Amazon Slashes 14,000 Corporate Jobs Amid Major AI Push

Amazon has confirmed it will axe around 14,000 corporate roles worldwide as the tech giant restructures to accelerate its AI ambitions, with questions remaining over whether Australian jobs are at risk.

The company said the move would make its operations “leaner” and “more focused on innovation”, with senior vice president Beth Galetti telling staff the reductions were needed to “shift resources toward our biggest bets”.

The cuts represent roughly 4% of Amazon’s 350,000-strong corporate workforce.

Amazon employs more than 7,000 people in Australia across corporate, logistics and warehouse operations.

While the company has not confirmed if local staff will be affected, it’s suggested regional teams could be indirectly impacted as global divisions, including Amazon Web Services (AWS) and retail operations, streamline management layers.

The timing comes just after Amazon opened two new logistics centres in Melbourne’s north and west, which is part of a local expansion designed to boost delivery speeds and cement its position against rivals like eBay, Kogan and Temu.

The company said those sites are unaffected by the corporate layoffs.

Globally, Amazon has been doubling down on AI investment, committing more than US$10 billion (A$15.2 billion) this year alone to build out data centres in the US.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has described AI as “the most transformative technology since the Internet”, adding that automation would inevitably change how corporate teams operate.

“AI will enable us to innovate faster than ever before, but it also means fewer people doing certain kinds of work,” Jassy said in June.

The layoffs mark Amazon’s largest round of cuts since 2023, when it trimmed about 27,000 staff following the post-pandemic slowdown.

Like many tech giants, Amazon has been recalibrating after aggressive hiring during Covid-19, when surging online demand spurred rapid growth.

Analysts say the latest cuts highlight the tension between long-term AI investment and short-term cost control.

“This is a tipping point away from human capital toward technological infrastructure,” said GlobalData’s Neil Saunders.

Amazon reports its third-quarter earnings later this week, with investors watching closely to see whether AI-driven efficiencies translate into profits.