(DDM) — In what could be one of the largest corporate downsizings in recent U.S. history, Amazon is preparing to lay off as many as 30,000 corporate employees beginning tomorrow, according to reports emerging from multiple media outlets.
Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) gathered that the massive job cuts, representing nearly 10% of Amazon’s global corporate workforce, come amid growing fears that the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) is accelerating the erosion of white-collar jobs in major industries.
According to Reuters, which first broke the story, the layoffs are expected to impact departments across Amazon’s corporate operations, though the company has yet to release an official statement confirming which divisions will be affected. CNN has also reached out to Amazon for comment.
With over 350,000 corporate employees, according to a 2024 filing with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Amazon’s latest retrenchment marks another milestone in its continued efforts to streamline operations and embrace automation.
DDM recalls that in June 2024, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy hinted at future workforce reductions in a blog post addressed to employees, stating that the company’s increasing reliance on AI-powered efficiency would likely lead to a “smaller, more focused workforce” in the near future.
“It’s about working smarter, not necessarily employing more people,” Jassy wrote at the time, suggesting that machine learning systems were beginning to handle tasks once reserved for human managers and analysts.
The looming cuts, DDM learned, follow similar mass layoffs announced in 2023, when Amazon eliminated approximately 27,000 positions across its human resources, Amazon Stores, and Web Services divisions.
Those cuts, Jassy said, were driven by a worsening global economic outlook and post-pandemic restructuring.
This latest wave, however, appears tied more directly to technological disruption than economic strain, signaling a deeper shift in how big tech companies envision their future workforce.
Analysts say the move underscores how AI is transforming not only manual labor but also traditionally stable corporate roles such as marketing, logistics, and data management.
Industry observers warn that the scale of Amazon’s layoffs could send shockwaves through the U.S. labor market, already grappling with uncertainty from inflation pressures and rising interest rates.
Some economists predict that the trend may extend to other tech giants, potentially triggering a new wave of job insecurity in the broader corporate sector.
DDM analysis shows that Amazon’s continued pivot toward AI-driven automation mirrors similar moves by competitors like Google, Meta, and Microsoft, each of which has invested heavily in AI systems while quietly trimming their human workforce.
While Amazon remains one of the world’s most valuable companies, with annual revenues surpassing $575 billion, the timing of the layoffs, just months before the holiday shopping season, is raising concerns about employee morale and long-term productivity.
Labor unions and worker advocacy groups have also criticized the tech giant’s decision, accusing it of prioritizing shareholder gains and automation over workers’ livelihoods.
As the first round of layoffs begins tomorrow, the broader question, analysts say, is not just how many jobs will be lost, but how many will never return in an era where artificial intelligence continues to redefine the global workforce.
