Amazon just laid off around 14,000 employees globally, including 2,303 in Seattle. The reason was simple on paper but complex in execution - each org was given a target to reduce operating expenses, which, in practice, meant headcount reductions across all levels (L4-L8).

These weren’t grassroots decisions. The calls were made by VPs/SVPs (L10/L11). Despite the org charts, most directors were kept out of it - a few were quietly “hinted,” but very few actually had a say. The direction came top-down and moved fast.

If you read the patterns, it’s clear there was a method to the madness: 1. Remote employees were targeted first. Fully remote roles had a flag. In a few orgs with humane leaders, some people were quietly given the option to relocate or align with a team location - those who accepted were selectively spared. Those who declined, even with solid performance, were dropped. Not everyone got this choice; it often depended on having a strong internal network or supportive L8/L10 leadership. 2. Extended leave cases came next - employees on or returning from maternity, paternity, or FMLA leave in 2025. Across orgs (especially TT/HV3), being out of sight unfortunately became a factor. 3. Once quotas still weren’t met, low performance bands (HV1s, and if needed HV2s) were tapped to close the gap.

The categories above are org, specific. I have observed this in 3 orgs. When I say org, I refer to anyone under an L8 leader. If you fall into any/all of the three above, and are still employed, you have someone higher above vouching for you or have L10 visibility high impact projects or belong to an org, which may have applied a different strategy or are simply very lucky. If your org has enough people on focus/HR escalations, it can be as simple as not employing the above flags and simply letting go of those folks.

It’s a hunting game of gazelles. The fastest ones still fell if they were remote or on leave; the slower ones got caught if the quotas weren’t filled.

A few strongly networked L6s/L7s with L8 or L10 backing managed to stay clear, but most didn’t have that safety net.

This first wave - 14K out of a rumored 30K - is likely just the beginning. Retail orgs may see action after Black Friday/Cyber Monday, and AWS after re:Invent. Expect a second major wave in January, with smaller aftershocks through November and February.

Behind the numbers are real people - friends, colleagues, and mentors. Some of the best Amazonians I know are suddenly updating résumés this week. It’s heartbreaking to watch brilliant, kind, and hardworking folks caught in something this mechanical.

So if you’re in a position to help, reach out to those impacted. Offer a referral, a conversation, or just empathy. Many could use a bit of humanity right now - both before and after whatever comes next.

Edit 1: Added caveats below the three criteria based on inputs. Added the focus/HR escalations as an override.

Amazon is planning to cut as many as 30,000 corporate jobs beginning Tuesday, as the company works to pare expenses and compensate for overhiring during the peak demand of the pandemic, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The figure represents a small percentage of Amazon’s 1.55 million total employees, but nearly 10% of the company’s roughly 350,000 corporate employees. This would represent the largest job cut at Amazon since around 27,000 jobs were eliminated starting in late 2022.

Managers of impacted teams were asked to undergo training on Monday for how to communicate with staff following notifications that will start going out via email tomorrow morning

https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/amazon-targets-many-30000-corporate-job-cuts-sources-say-2025-10-27/

What are your thoughts on this?

https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/amazon-exec-explains-layoff-california-21129467.php

In California, Amazon filed WARNs, which are generally required in the event of mass job cuts, for seven cities: Sunnyvale (391 layoffs), Irvine (333), Palo Alto (176), Culver City (152), San Diego (145), Santa Monica (130) and Santa Clara (76). It adds up to 1,403 cuts statewide — it’s unclear how the overall cuts might be affecting subsidiaries. (Amazon also owns Audible, Twitch, Goodreads, Whole Foods, Zoox and Ring.)

Who are these laid-off workers? Software development engineers make up the largest category, with hundreds of cuts listed across the documents. Amazon is also shedding recruiters, business analysts, marketers and managers. The layoffs in Irvine and San Diego, where Amazon has video game studios, include dozens of game designers and game artists.

This sheds some light on how affected SWEs were by this layoff in California at least. Not sure about other locations. The total layoff number is 14000

My friend from Amazon told me how she saw an entire team, including their manager, get laid off right in front of her eyes — all within seconds. The way they had to leave the office was honestly heartbreaking.

These layoffs are massive; entire orgs are being wiped out. The testing teams in Q3 and Q4 were the first to go. They collected company laptops on the spot, and that was it.

It’s rough out there right now.

Tech layoffs: Amazon Web Services (AWS) division gave hundreds of employees the pink slip from its cloud unit earlier this week. The major wave of job cuts comes just weeks after CEO Andy Jassy stated that AI will likely reduce the need for certain roles across Amazon. Analyst Amanda Goodall, who uses the handle “@thejobchick” on X(formerly Twitter) predicted that further job cuts are expected towards the end of this year.

There is a discussion about Amazon doing its biggest layoff ever across every division.

Many US product teams are also being transferred to Canada

So far I've heard about 1200 in Spain and +1,000 in the Netherlands

Is it possible that Amazon put employees in Focus/Pivot then announce layoff? I heard they did it in 2023/2024 layoffs, but I am trying to see if I should wait till end of Focus to ask for FMLA, or FMLA the sooner the better before they announce the layoff by end of Q1 2025 that will be earlier than my stock vest period in May? I am emotionally exhausted at this point to plan for the best course of actions for myself.

With AI initiatives at Amazon struggling to gain real traction, I can’t shake the feeling that Rohit Prasad and the Devices org (Alexa, Echo, etc.) might be on the chopping block for a massive layoff soon. The company has been doubling down on generative AI, but so far, it hasn’t delivered the kind of breakthrough that justifies the massive investments in these teams.

I’ve also been hearing similar chatter from the AWS side. Cloud growth is slowing compared to previous years, and with all the big tech players aggressively optimizing costs, AWS might not be immune this time.

Amazon has gone through multiple waves of cuts in the past two years, mostly targeting underperforming or low-margin areas. Devices has historically been a low-profit segment (Alexa never really became the cash cow they hoped), and now with AI hype at its peak but no clear winning product, I wouldn’t be surprised if leadership starts trimming these units.

What do you all think? Are we about to see another round of major layoffs, especially hitting Devices and AWS? Or do you think Amazon will double down and try to pivot instead?

I’ve heard that many BIEs and data professionals have been laid off recently. It’s quite unsettling to see, and I’m feeling anxious both as an employee, since it could happen at my company too and as a job seeker, knowing that many of those laid-off professionals will now be competing in the job market alongside me.

Amazon just announced 14,000 layoffs while sitting on $100 billion in cash.

Is this the new playbook for the AI era that companies are implementing to survive and/or thrive.

Or maybe it's just a way for them to make their balance sheets look pretty for the investors with all the money they've dumped into AI.

Amazon's CEO explained it clearly: "When you add a lot of people, you end up with middle managers who want to put their fingerprint on everything.

Full post:

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/stepania_amazon-just-announced-14000-layoffs-while-activity-7308144807313371137-YZMl

Amazon AWS layoffs 2025: Amazon has laid off several hundred employees from its AWS cloud division, according to Reuters. The exact number remains unclear. The cuts are part of a wider restructuring effort at the company, which comes just over a month after previous job reductions in other parts of the business.