Amazon has announced plans to cut around 14,000 corporate jobs as part of a major restructuring effort to accelerate its investment in artificial intelligence.
The layoffs, affecting about 4% of the company’s office workforce, will impact staff in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
The tech giant said the decision reflects the rapid pace of innovation driven by AI and the need to adapt its operations accordingly. The move marks Amazon’s largest round of layoffs since 2023, when 27,000 jobs were eliminated worldwide.
The company has committed approximately $40 billion since last year to new data centre projects in the U.S,. aiming to “strengthen its AI infrastructure” and compete with major players such as OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and Meta.
The cuts come amid a broader wave of job losses across the global tech sector, as companies restructure around automation and digital efficiency. According to Layoffs.fyi, nearly 113,000 tech workers have been laid off globally this year.
Critics, including U.S. left-wing Senator Bernie Sanders, have warned that corporations are using AI advancements to boost profits while cutting human jobs, deepening economic inequality. Amazon has not specified which departments will be most affected but confirmed the restructuring will continue into early next year.
