Amazon Job Cut Statistics in US 2025 | Key Facts

Amazon Job Cuts in America 2025

The American employment landscape witnessed a seismic shift in 2025 as Amazon announced one of the largest corporate workforce reductions in its 31-year history. The e-commerce and technology giant revealed plans to eliminate approximately 14,000 corporate positions across the United States in 2025, with company executives explicitly linking these cuts to the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence technology. This restructuring represents roughly 4% of Amazon’s 350,000-strong corporate workforce and marks a pivotal moment in how major tech companies are reshaping their operations in response to AI-driven transformation.

The layoffs, which began rolling out in October 2025, are part of CEO Andy Jassy’s strategic vision to transform Amazon into what he describes as the “world’s largest startup” by reducing bureaucracy, eliminating organizational layers, and redirecting resources toward AI investments and other strategic priorities. Beth Galetti, Amazon’s Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology, emphasized in the official announcement that this generation of AI represents “the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet,” suggesting that these workforce reductions are just the beginning of a broader realignment in corporate America. Industry sources and company communications indicate that additional layoffs are expected to continue into January 2026, with some estimates suggesting the total number of job cuts could eventually reach 30,000 positions across the United States.

Key Facts About Amazon Job Cuts in the US 2025

Data compiled from Amazon official announcements, WARN filings, and verified news reports as of December 2025

The statistics presented in this table reveal a calculated approach to workforce reduction that Amazon implemented throughout 2025. The company’s decision to provide 90 days of internal job search opportunities exceeds the federal WARN Act requirement of 60 days notice, demonstrating awareness of more stringent state-level regulations in key markets like New York, New Jersey, and Washington. The filing of WARN notices across multiple states provides transparency into the scale and scope of these reductions, with Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification documents revealing detailed breakdowns of affected positions, locations, and timelines.

What stands out most dramatically in these figures is the disproportionate impact on engineering talent, with nearly 40% of documented layoffs in 2025 affecting software developers, applied scientists, and technical roles. This contradicts the traditional assumption that engineering positions would be among the safest in an AI-driven economy. Instead, Amazon’s 2025 restructuring suggests that even highly skilled technical roles are vulnerable when companies adopt AI coding assistants and automation tools. The company’s own AI coding platform, Kiro, alongside competitors like Cursor and OpenAI’s offerings, appears to be enabling Amazon to accomplish similar engineering output with fewer human developers, fundamentally reshaping the economics of software development in the United States in 2025.

State-by-State Amazon Job Cuts in the US 2025

Source: State WARN Act filings and company notices submitted to Employment Development Departments in 2025

The geographic distribution of Amazon job cuts in the US during 2025 reveals that the company’s home state of Washington bore the brunt of the reductions, with 2,303 employees receiving separation notices. This concentration makes sense given that Amazon’s largest corporate workforce operates in the Seattle metropolitan area, where the company maintains its original headquarters and most extensive office presence. The WARN Act filing submitted to Washington State’s Employment Security Department detailed layoffs across numerous facilities, including distribution centers and corporate offices in Bellevue, Bremerton, and throughout the greater Seattle region, with separation dates extending from January 26, 2026 through May 26, 2026.

California, as Amazon’s second-largest corporate employment hub in the United States, saw 1,540 positions eliminated across multiple locations in 2025. The Golden State’s cuts were particularly concentrated in the Bay Area, where Sunnyvale lost 391 jobs, Palo Alto saw 176 positions eliminated, and San Francisco experienced 137 layoffs primarily affecting software development and applied science teams. Southern California facilities in San Diego and Irvine were hit especially hard due to significant reductions in Amazon’s video game division, where the company announced it was halting development of major MMO games and scaling back its gaming studio operations. New York experienced over 760 job cuts in 2025, with Manhattan offices bearing significant reductions particularly in advertising sales and marketing roles, which accounted for approximately 20% of the city’s total eliminations. These state-level figures represent only the documented WARN Act filings available as of December 2025, meaning the true scale of reductions across all 50 states is likely considerably higher than these reported numbers indicate.

Engineering Jobs Hit Hardest in the US 2025

Source: WARN filing job title data from California, New York, New Jersey, and Washington in 2025

The breakdown of job categories affected by Amazon layoffs in the US during 2025 paints a concerning picture for technical professionals who once considered their roles relatively secure. Engineering positions, which include software development engineers, applied scientists, quality assurance engineers, and related technical roles, comprised nearly 40% of all documented job cuts across the four states with detailed WARN Act data. Within this category, SDE II roles (mid-level software engineers) were disproportionately affected, suggesting that Amazon is targeting the middle tier of its engineering organization rather than entry-level or senior principal positions. This targeting pattern indicates a strategic decision to flatten organizational hierarchies and potentially replace mid-level technical work with AI-assisted development tools.

The significant elimination of product managers and program managers, totaling over 500 positions in 2025, reflects Amazon’s broader push to reduce what CEO Andy Jassy describes as “organizational bloat” and excessive layers of management. These roles, which traditionally serve as connectors between engineering teams and business objectives, are apparently being consolidated or eliminated as the company seeks more direct lines of communication and decision-making. Amazon’s advertising business, despite being one of its most profitable divisions in the US in 2025, saw over 140 positions cut in New York alone, with additional reductions in other markets. The video game division experienced particularly severe cuts concentrated in California, where Amazon operates major game studios in San Diego and Irvine. The company explicitly announced it was halting development of AAA (big-budget) games, particularly massively multiplayer online titles, leading to layoffs of game designers, artists, and producers who represented more than 25% of total cuts at some facilities. The Human Resources department, officially termed People Experience and Technology (PXT) at Amazon, is projected to shrink by up to 15% of its 10,000+ global workforce during 2025, making it one of the most severely affected departments on a percentage basis in the United States.

AWS Cloud Computing Cuts in the US 2025

Source: Company memos and department announcements from AWS divisions in 2025

Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing division that generates the majority of Amazon’s operating profits in the US, was not spared from the 2025 workforce reductions despite its critical importance to the company’s financial performance. In July 2025, AWS announced hundreds of job cuts across various teams, with the Training and Certification division receiving explicit notification of reductions in a memo from division head Michelle Vaz. These cuts came at a particularly sensitive time for AWS in 2025, as the division’s growth rate had slowed to 17% year-over-year in Q1, down from 18.9% previously, while facing intensifying competition from Microsoft Azure (growing at 30%+) and Google Cloud (growing at 32%) in the United States market.

The company maintained that AWS layoffs in 2025 were not primarily driven by AI investments, instead attributing them to a “thorough review of organization, priorities, and strategic focus.” However, this explanation appeared somewhat contradictory to CEO Andy Jassy’s earlier statements in June 2025, when he explicitly warned employees that the company’s adoption of generative AI tools would lead to a reduced corporate workforce. The AWS cuts affected teams working on sales, marketing, physical stores technology (including the “Just Walk Out” system), and even some roles in AI and analytics despite these being growth areas. The division’s struggles in 2025 were compounded by one of the worst service outages in AWS history occurring in late October, which disrupted major websites and applications including Venmo, Reddit, Roblox, and Duolingo across the United States, raising questions about whether the workforce reductions might be impacting service reliability and operational capacity in the critical US market.

Layoff Timeline and Future Projections for the US in 2025-2026

Source: WARN Act filings, company announcements, and official employee communications in 2025

The timeline of Amazon job cuts in the US throughout 2025 reveals a carefully orchestrated rollout designed to minimize operational disruption while complying with complex state and federal notification requirements. The first significant wave began in July 2025 when AWS quietly eliminated hundreds of positions, though the company avoided widespread publicity around these reductions. The major announcement came on October 28, 2025, when Amazon officially revealed plans to cut approximately 14,000 corporate roles across the United States, timing the news to come after the completion of managers’ training sessions on how to communicate the layoffs to affected teams.

WARN Act filings submitted to various state employment departments throughout October and November 2025 provided the most concrete data about the scale and scope of these reductions in the US. The filings revealed that actual separation dates would be staggered across multiple months, with the first major wave set for January 26, 2026, strategically timed to occur after the critical holiday shopping season that represents Amazon’s peak revenue period in the United States. Subsequent separation dates listed in the Washington State WARN filing extend through January 30, February 5, February 25, February 27, March 19, April 1, April 26, and May 26 of 2026, demonstrating that the workforce reduction will unfold gradually over six months. Looking beyond the announced 14,000 cuts, multiple news sources citing company insiders reported that the total number could eventually reach 30,000 positions across the United States, with additional rounds of layoffs expected throughout 2026. Beth Galetti’s memo explicitly stated that Amazon expects to “continue hiring in key strategic areas while also finding additional places we can remove layers, increase ownership, and realize efficiency gains” in 2026, essentially confirming that the 2025 announcement represents the beginning rather than the end of workforce restructuring in the US.

Severance and Support for Affected US Employees in 2025

Source: Amazon official workforce reduction announcement to US employees in 2025

Amazon’s support package for employees affected by 2025 layoffs in the US represents an attempt to soften the blow of job loss while managing potential legal exposure under various state labor laws. The company is offering most impacted employees 90 days to search for alternative positions within Amazon before their separation takes effect, a timeline that exceeds the federal WARN Act’s 60-day requirement but aligns with more stringent state laws in New York, New Jersey, and Maine that mandate 90 days notice for mass layoffs. During this period, affected workers in the United States remain employed with full pay and benefits while exploring internal opportunities, and Amazon has instructed its recruiting teams to give priority consideration to these internal candidates when filling open positions.

For employees who either cannot find a suitable internal role or choose not to pursue one, Amazon is providing severance packages that include financial compensation, though the company has not publicly disclosed the specific formula or amounts being offered to US workers in 2025. Healthcare benefits will be extended beyond the employment end date, helping to bridge the gap until individuals can secure new insurance coverage through subsequent employment or marketplace options. Outplacement services, including career counseling, resume preparation, interview coaching, and job search assistance, are being made available to help affected employees transition to new opportunities outside Amazon in the competitive US job market of 2025. The company’s memo references “additional benefits” without specifying details, though these likely include things like accrued vacation payouts and potential stock vesting accommodations. While these support measures are more generous than what many employers provide during mass layoffs in the US, affected employees and labor advocates have noted that no support package can fully compensate for the loss of stable employment at one of the world’s most valuable companies, particularly given the challenging job market for corporate professionals in late 2025 where over 120,000 tech workers had already been laid off across 231 companies according to tracking data.

AI’s Role in Amazon US Job Cuts 2025

Source: CEO statements, company strategic documents, and industry analysis from 2025

The role of artificial intelligence in driving Amazon’s 2025 US job cuts represents perhaps the most significant and controversial aspect of these workforce reductions. CEO Andy Jassy made the connection explicit in a June 2025 memo to employees, stating that as the company rolls out more Generative AI and AI agents, “we will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs.” He predicted that this would reduce Amazon’s total corporate workforce in the United States as the company achieves “efficiency gains from using AI extensively.” This frank acknowledgment marked one of the first times a major tech CEO so directly linked AI adoption to workforce reduction, setting a precedent that other companies in the US would follow throughout 2025.

The impact of AI on engineering roles has been particularly pronounced in 2025, as AI-powered coding assistants and platforms have begun to genuinely augment or replace certain software development tasks in the United States. Amazon’s development of its own AI coding tool, Kiro, alongside the adoption of external platforms like Cursor, OpenAI’s offerings, and Cognition’s products, has enabled the company to accomplish similar development output with fewer human engineers. The cuts to SDE II (mid-level) engineering positions suggest that routine coding, debugging, and implementation tasks that once required human developers are increasingly being handled by AI assistants in 2025, with human oversight concentrated at senior levels. Beyond engineering, AI is transforming work across multiple departments in Amazon’s US operations. In Human Resources, AI systems are now handling performance analytics, workforce planning, and even aspects of recruitment that previously required human judgment. Marketing teams are using generative AI to create content, analyze campaign performance, and manage customer communications with fewer human marketers needed in 2025. Administrative and coordination roles that involved scheduling, data analysis, and process management are being automated through AI-powered workflow systems. The company’s estimated $100 billion investment in capital expenditures for 2025, primarily directed toward AI and data center infrastructure in the US, represents a massive reallocation of resources from human labor to technological capability, fundamentally reshaping the economics of how Amazon operates in the United States.

Comparison with Other Tech Layoffs in the US 2025

Source: Layoffs.fyi, Challenger Gray & Christmas, and verified company announcements from 2025

Amazon’s 14,000 US job cuts in 2025 must be understood within the broader context of widespread workforce reductions across the American technology sector. According to data compiled by Layoffs.fyi, approximately 120,444 tech workers globally were laid off by 239 tech companies through November 2025, with a significant concentration in the United States. Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an executive outplacement firm, reported that 141,159 US tech workers lost their jobs through October 2025, making technology the second-most affected sector after government in the United States. Amazon’s reductions, while substantial, were actually moderate compared to Intel’s elimination of 35,500 positions in 2025, which represented one of the largest single-company layoffs in the US tech sector this year.

Microsoft cut 15,300+ positions in the United States in 2025, with CEO Satya Nadella telling employees they must “reimagine our mission for a new era” of AI, a message remarkably similar to Amazon’s positioning. Meta Platforms laid off approximately 600 employees in its AI division alone, with additional cuts of 318 workers at its Menlo Park headquarters in the US, as the company restructured to reduce layers and operate more nimbly. Salesforce eliminated 4,000+ positions in 2025 as it pursued efficiency gains and increased AI integration across its platform. Even Google, despite its dominant market position, cut over 100 design roles in its cloud division and at least 50 permanent positions in Sunnyvale, California, as it shifted resources toward AI investments in the US market. The common thread across virtually all major tech layoffs in the United States during 2025 was the explicit or implicit connection to AI-driven transformation, with companies simultaneously cutting human workers while increasing investments in AI infrastructure, tools, and capabilities. This pattern suggests that 2025 marked an inflection point where AI moved from a theoretical threat to employment to an actual driver of workforce reduction in the American tech sector, with Amazon serving as one of the most prominent and well-documented examples of this transformation.

Impact on Specific US Cities and Regions in 2025

Source: State WARN Act filings and local employment department data from 2025

The geographic concentration of Amazon job cuts in specific US cities and regions during 2025 created localized economic impacts that extended beyond just the affected employees. Seattle, as Amazon’s original headquarters and largest employment hub in the United States, bore the heaviest burden with over 2,000 corporate positions eliminated from the metropolitan area. This represents a significant blow to the local economy, as Amazon employees typically earn high salaries that support restaurants, retail businesses, real estate markets, and service industries throughout the Puget Sound region. Local business owners near Amazon’s downtown Seattle headquarters took notice, with one food truck operator who has served Amazon workers for over a decade expressing frustration that the company “seemingly lays off employees en masse once a quarter” despite being “one of the most valuable companies on the planet.”

The San Francisco Bay Area, encompassing San Francisco, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, and Santa Clara, saw over 800 Amazon positions eliminated in 2025, adding to the region’s struggles to recover its pre-pandemic economic vitality. The San Francisco cuts, totaling 137 employees, represented one of the city’s largest corporate tech reductions of the year, with the most significant impact at the 525 Market Street office where 71 employees were laid off. Sunnyvale’s loss of 391 jobs and Palo Alto’s elimination of 176 positions, primarily affecting software development and applied science teams, dealt a blow to Silicon Valley’s traditional role as the epicenter of tech innovation in the United States. New York City, with over 760 Amazon positions cut in 2025, saw particular concentration in advertising sales and marketing roles that had been a growing presence in Manhattan. Southern California, especially San Diego and Irvine, experienced severe impacts from Amazon’s video game division restructuring, with entire studio teams disbanded and major game projects cancelled, eliminating jobs for game designers, artists, and producers who had limited alternative employment options in those specific US markets.

Long-term Employment Outlook for Amazon in the US 2025-2026

Source: Company statements, analyst projections, and industry trend analysis for 2025-2026

The long-term employment outlook for Amazon’s corporate workforce in the United States through 2026 suggests that the 14,000 positions eliminated in 2025 represent the beginning rather than the conclusion of a multi-year workforce transformation. Beth Galetti’s official announcement explicitly stated that Amazon expects to “continue hiring in key strategic areas while also finding additional places we can remove layers, increase ownership, and realize efficiency gains” in 2026, effectively confirming that additional rounds of layoffs are planned for the US market. Multiple credible news sources, citing company insiders, have reported that the total number of job cuts could eventually reach 30,000 positions in the United States, nearly double the initially announced figure. Reuters reported that managers underwent training specifically on how to communicate these larger-scale reductions, and internal communications obtained by journalists suggest that a significant second wave of layoffs is planned for January 2026, strategically timed to occur after the holiday shopping season.

The specific job categories most at risk for future cuts in the US through 2026 include additional engineering positions as AI coding assistants continue to improve, further reductions in management layers as Amazon pursues its goal of operating like “the world’s largest startup,” and continued consolidation of administrative, HR, and support functions that can be automated through AI systems. However, Amazon has indicated it will continue selective hiring in specific high-priority areas, particularly roles directly related to AI development, data center operations, and cloud infrastructure that support the company’s strategic bets in the United States. Interestingly, the company’s warehouse and fulfillment workforce appears largely insulated from these corporate cuts, with Amazon actually planning to hire 250,000 workers for full-time, part-time, and temporary roles in its fulfillment and transportation units to meet holiday demand in the US in 2025. This dichotomy illustrates that Amazon’s workforce strategy involves growing its blue-collar, customer-facing operations while simultaneously shrinking its white-collar, corporate structure. For the broader US labor market, Amazon’s trajectory serves as a potential preview of how major employers might reshape their workforces in an AI-driven economy, with implications extending far beyond just one company’s employment decisions to potentially influence hiring patterns and job security expectations across corporate America in 2025 and 2026.

Historical Context: Amazon US Job Cuts 2022-2025

Source: Company announcements and historical WARN filing data from 2022-2025

Understanding Amazon’s 2025 US job cuts requires examining the historical context of workforce reductions over the preceding years. The company began its most significant modern layoff cycle in late 2022, extending into 2023, when it eliminated at least 27,000 corporate positions across the United States and globally. Those cuts, which CEO Andy Jassy attributed to a worsening global economic outlook and post-pandemic demand adjustment, affected teams across Human Resources, Amazon Stores, Amazon Web Services, and numerous other divisions. This represented a dramatic reversal from the aggressive hiring spree Amazon had undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic when consumer demand for e-commerce and cloud services surged in the United States, leading the company to rapidly expand its corporate workforce.

2024 saw relatively modest workforce reductions in the US, with several hundred employees laid off across specific divisions including Prime Video, Amazon Studios, and the Wondery audio platform, but nothing approaching the scale of the 2022-2023 cuts. However, the 2025 layoffs mark a renewed and intensified phase of workforce reduction, but with a fundamentally different justification than the earlier round. While the 2022-2023 cuts were attributed to economic uncertainty and over-hiring correction, the 2025 reductions are explicitly linked to AI-driven transformation and organizational restructuring to support the company’s strategic pivot toward artificial intelligence in the US market. Cumulatively, Amazon has eliminated over 40,000 corporate positions in the United States during the 2022-2025 period, representing one of the most sustained workforce reduction efforts in the company’s history and reflecting a fundamental reassessment of how many people are needed to run the business. The key difference is that while previous cuts might have been followed by rehiring as economic conditions improved, the AI-driven nature of the 2025 reductions suggests a more permanent structural change in Amazon’s workforce requirements in the United States, with fewer corporate employees needed on an ongoing basis as AI systems assume responsibilities previously handled by human workers.

Worker Rights and WARN Act Compliance in the US 2025

Source: Federal and state WARN Act provisions and Amazon compliance documentation from 2025

The legal framework governing Amazon’s 2025 US job cuts centers on the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, a federal law enacted in 1988 that requires employers with 100 or more employees to provide at least 60 days advance written notice of plant closings or mass layoffs affecting 50 or more employees at a single location. This law aims to give workers sufficient time to prepare for job loss, seek alternative employment, and potentially pursue retraining opportunities in the United States. Amazon appears to have been particularly careful about WARN Act compliance in its 2025 layoffs, providing 90 days notice for most affected employees, which exceeds the federal minimum and aligns with more stringent state-level requirements in key markets.

Several US states have enacted their own “mini-WARN” laws that provide additional protections beyond the federal statute. New York, New Jersey, and Maine all require 90 days notice for mass layoffs rather than the federal 60 days, and California has its own WARN Act that covers employers with 75 or more employees (versus 100 federally). Amazon’s decision to provide 90 days to most US employees likely reflects a desire to comply with the strictest applicable state law rather than risk potential WARN Act violation lawsuits that could be filed in multiple jurisdictions. The company filed detailed WARN notices with employment departments in Washington, California, New York, New Jersey, and other states throughout October and November 2025, providing comprehensive lists of affected employees, job titles, facilities, and separation dates as required by law. Despite these compliance efforts, employment attorneys and labor advocates have noted that some affected workers in the US during 2025 may still have grounds to file WARN Act violation claims if they believe they did not receive adequate notice or if Amazon failed to properly notify state agencies in certain jurisdictions.

The WARN Act provides specific remedies for workers who do not receive proper notice, including back pay and benefits for each day of violation up to 60 days, creating significant potential liability for employers who fail to comply in the United States. Class action lawsuits alleging WARN Act violations have become increasingly common during large-scale tech layoffs in 2025, with law firms actively soliciting affected Amazon employees to join potential legal actions. Beyond WARN requirements, affected employees in certain US states may have additional protections under state labor laws, collective bargaining agreements (though Amazon has successfully resisted unionization in most corporate facilities), or specific provisions in their employment contracts. The company’s provision of 90 days for internal job searching, severance packages, extended benefits, and outplacement services likely serves both humanitarian purposes and strategic legal risk management, helping to reduce the likelihood of successful legal challenges from laid-off workers in the competitive employment law landscape of the United States in 2025.

Disclaimer: This research report is compiled from publicly available sources. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given as to the completeness or reliability of the information. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions, losses, or damages of any kind arising from the use of this report.

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