Amazon’s Ruthless Job Cuts Deepen Amid Major Restructuring

SEATRE, January ​30, 2025 – Amazon started 2025 with another series of redundancies, which marks the continuation of ​its important cost reduction and restructuring initiatives. ​The company has fired dozens of employees in its communications and corporate responsibility department, ​including sustainable development teams, according to several sources. This follows a more general trend towards labour reduction in ​the Amazon, which has also resulted in reductions in its North American stores ​division and the closure of several warehouses in Canada, affecting thousands of employees.

Why Amazon still cuts jobs?

Redundancies are part ​of Amazon’s ongoing strategy ​to simplify its operations and reduce management layers. According to Amazon ​spokesman Brad Glasser, ​the ​company regularly evaluates its organizational structures to ensure efficiency. “Following a recent review, we are ​making changes to the Communications and Corporate Responsibility organization to help us move forward faster, increase our property, strengthen ​our culture and bring our clients together,” said Ms. Glasser.

Although ​the company has not revealed the exact ​number of employees affected, the reports suggest that these reductions are aligned with ​the broader mandate of Amazon ​CEO Andy Jassy to eliminate bureaucracy and improve ​efficiency. Since taking office in ​2021, Jassy has monitored several waves of layoffs, with the largest cuts in 2022 and 2023, when more than 27,000 employees were laid off.

Which Amazon departments are ​most affected?

The most ​recent layoffs have mainly affected Amazon’s Communications and ​Corporate Responsibility Department, which includes teams responsible for messaging, sustainability ​initiatives and public ​relations. These reductions follow the ​elimination of 200 positions in Amazon’s North America Stores division earlier this month and the closure of the seven Quebec-based stores, resulting in 1,700 job losses.

According ​to GeekWire, Amazon’s spokesman stated that certain roles were ​considered “too narrow” or introduced “unnecessary layers” that ​could ​not be resolved through internal restructuring. These decisions reflect ​a ​more general corporate tendency to reduce intermediate management ​levels to improve operational agility.

Is ​Amazon Targeting Middle Management here?

Amazon’s efforts ​to reduce ​jobs appear to be closely ​linked to its mission of reducing management levels and increasing relationships between individual contributors and supervisors. According to Business Insider, the ​company’s internal guidelines for Amazon Web Services (AWS) require managers to monitor at least eight direct reports, an increase from the previous minimum ​of six. ​This is part of a ​rollover strategy to reduce overhead management costs and streamline decision-making processes.

Director General Andy Jassy spoke of his contempt ​for excessive ​bureaucracy, saying earlier, “I hate bureaucracy,” at an internal ​meeting. The shift ​to more ​inclined management structures reflects similar movements from other large companies, such ​as Meta and Citi, which have also reduced intermediate management functions in ​recent ​years.

Are employees obliged to resign?

Some employees have hypothesized that Amazon’s growing focus on office work and management reductions is a strategic move to encourage ​voluntary renunciation rather than direct layoffs. In September 2024, Jassy announced a directive requiring employees in the ​office to work five ​days a week, which is a change to ​the three-day previous mandate implemented in May 2023. Critics argue that the rigid return policy can push ​some employees ​to resign ​rather than comply, ​thus reducing the number without formal dismissal.

Amazon denied these allegations, insisting that the Return to Work Directive is aimed exclusively at increasing productivity and collaboration. However, as ​Business Insider has pointed out, recent company movements, including a temporary break in the recruitment of new managers and pressure for existing ​managers to take on larger teams, indicate a clear effort to reduce management layers.

What about the ​Laid-Off employees?

Employees ​affected by recent layoffs will receive benefits and other benefits. According to Amazon’s official statements, laid-off employees in the United States will receive at least 60 days of payment and benefits, as ​well as transitional health ​insurance and placement support. Some employees also receive relocation support, ​indicating that Amazon is a restructuring team beyond the reduction.

The current job cuts would have created a ​culture of uncertainty in the Amazon. Business Insider reported that some employees fear taking risks or making difficult decisions, as they fear that ​mistakes will make them vulnerable to layoffs. This ​learning environment could ​have a long-term impact on innovation within the company.

Will Amazon ​continue to get rid of more employees?

Amazon’s restructuring efforts are ​far from complete. Bank of America analysts estimate that the ​company could save about $1.5 billion a year as a result of these administrative cuts. Since Amazon is actively working to reduce costs, it is likely that further labour reductions will occur throughout the year.

Jassy has previously indicated ​that Amazon’s recruitment and organisation structure will continue to evolve according ​to the needs ​of companies. However, if Amazon’s past layoffs ​are an indication, employees should be supported for further reductions, as the company continues its efforts to optimize efficiency and reduce overall costs.

Despite these significant job cuts, Amazon remains ​a dominant player in the global ​technology and electronic commerce industries. The company’s AWS ​division continues ​to generate significant revenues, and ​its online market remains one of the largest in the world. However, ​these redundancies highlight the company’s ongoing struggles to balance aggressive growth with sustainable ​cost management.