SAN FRANCISCO, 27 October 2025 – Amazon is planning to slash as many as 30,000 corporate jobs across a number of divisions as part of a move to streamline operations and better align costs with its shifting strategic priorities.
While the cuts would represent under 2 % of Amazon’s total workforce of approximately 1.55 million, they would amount to nearly 10 % of its 350,000-strong corporate workforce, making this one of the company’s largest layoff waves since late 2022.
Strategic Rationale and Division Impact
According to people familiar with the matter, the targeted reductions will affect a range of internal groups, including human resources (People Experience & Technology), operations, devices & services, and parts of its cloud unit.
The move is being driven by a broader push under CEO Andy Jassy to cut back bureaucracy, accelerate automation (especially via artificial intelligence) and deliver cost-efficiency in what the company now views as a more conservative macro environment. Jassy had previously warned that the increased use of AI tools would likely lead to additional job cuts.
Implications for Asian Investors and Tech Ecosystem
Though Amazon is a U.S.-listed company, this development carries several key takeaways for Asian investors, tech companies and regional job markets:
- Corporate cost discipline intensifies: As Amazon presses ahead with automation and structural change, tech firms in Asia should recognise that cost-base resets remain very much on the agenda, even post-pandemic.
- AI and automation as workforce disruptors: The fact that Amazon specifically links job-cut plans with AI-driven productivity gains underscores the growing influence of automation across enterprise functions, not just front-end tech roles.
- Global supply-chain ripple-effects: Reductions in corporate staffing may ripple through supply-chains, partner-networks and service providers worldwide, including in Asia where many regional vendors feed into global tech giants.
- Talent-pool competition and migration: As major employers shift structure, Asian markets may see inward or outward talent flows depending on which sectors expand vs contract, companies in the region must be ready to adapt.
What to Watch Next
Investors and regional stakeholders should monitor:
- The timing and segments of the announced job cuts, whether they focus on U.S. operations, international teams or both.
- How Amazon communicates its Q4 earnings outlook, including any indication of cost-savings targets, capital expenditure shifts or margin pressure stemming from the restructuring.
- Impacts on cloud growth and enterprise spending in Asia, as major workloads shift, regional cloud providers and service partners may respond differently.
- Talent and labour-market signals in key Asian tech hubs, if major global players retrench, local firms may see increased competition for talent or conversely gain opportunities.
