Amazon is laying off another 16,000 employees as part of a broader effort to streamline its organization, according to an internal memo from Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience and technology.
The cuts expand on a restructuring effort announced in October that targeted 14,000 roles.
Amazon said the latest reductions are aimed at flattening management layers, increasing accountability and reducing bureaucracy, while continuing to invest in select growth areas.
The company declined to specify how many of the layoffs will affect its retail operations, which are increasingly overshadowed by faster-growing businesses such as advertising, subscriptions, marketplace seller services and cloud computing.
In the third quarter, Amazon reported double-digit growth across those segments: seller services revenue rose 12% year over year to $42.5 billion, advertising jumped 24% to $17.7 billion, subscription services increased 11% to $12.6 billion and AWS net sales climbed 20% to more than $33 billion.
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Artificial intelligence is playing a central role in Amazon’s workforce strategy.
In October, the company said advances in generative AI would reduce its need for certain roles, and CEO Andy Jassy has argued that AI will accelerate the shift from physical retail to e-commerce.
The job cuts follow another major reset of Amazon’s retail footprint. Earlier this week, the company announced it would close all Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores, pivoting instead toward expanding its Whole Foods Market network and same-day grocery delivery.
Most affected U.S. employees will have 90 days to seek internal roles, with severance, benefits continuation and outplacement support offered to those who exit the company.
Galetti said the move does not signal a plan for recurring layoffs, but emphasized that teams will continue reassessing staffing levels as the business evolves.
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