Amazon is undertaking its largest-ever workforce reduction, cutting around 14,000 corporate jobs globally. The biggest impact has been on engineering roles, which account for nearly 40% of the cuts in key states like New York, California, New Jersey, and Washington.
Within engineering, mid-level software development engineers (SDE II) were the most affected. These employees are crucial in building and delivering Amazon’s products, sitting between entry-level staff and senior technical leaders.
The layoffs are partly driven by strategic shifts, including pulling back from areas like gaming projects and certain visual‑search AI shopping initiatives. Amazon’s aim is to streamline operations, flatten management layers, and make teams more agile, in line with CEO Andy Jassy’s push for startup-style efficiency.
Despite heavy investments in cloud computing and AI, Amazon is focusing on reducing the number of roles while increasing ownership and responsibility per employee. The company emphasizes that this is not about replacing workers with AI, but about optimizing team structure for faster decision-making.
Impacted employees are being given 90 days to apply for internal roles, and those who do not find a new position will receive severance pay, job transition support, and continued health benefits.
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