Amazon to replace 14,000 corporate employees with AI

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(The Center Square) – E-commerce giant Amazon confirmed Tuesday it will cut 14,000 corporate jobs as the retailer invests in artificial intelligence.

Beth Galetti, senior vice president of People Experience and Technology at Amazon, said the layoffs are part of a broader strategy that could slash 30,000 positions, or about 10% of corporate staff.

"This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we've seen since the Internet, and it's enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before (in existing market segments and altogether new ones)," Galetti wrote in a note to employees. "We're convicted that we need to be organized more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership, to move as quickly as possible for our customers and business."

Galetti said hiring will continue in some areas, but the corporate workforce would shed about 14,000 roles. Those employees will get 90 days to look for a new internal role at Amazon. Recruiters will also prioritize internal candidates. Others will get severance pay, outplacement services and health insurance benefits.

Amazon has about 350,000 corporate employees. It's total workforce is about 1.5 million. The cuts announced Tuesday amount to a 4% reduction.

The company's workforce doubled during the pandemic.