Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) is making a big bet on artificial intelligence, and thousands of engineers are paying the price. The company cut over 14,000 jobs last month across nearly every major division — from Amazon Web Services and devices to retail and advertising — with engineers taking the hardest hit.
Here's the uncomfortable truth: Amazon is building AI tools to do the work those engineers used to do.
State WARN filings in New York, California, New Jersey, and Washington reveal that engineers accounted for almost 40% of the 4,700+ roles eliminated in those states. That's a significant chunk of what appears to be Amazon's largest layoff round in its 31-year history. And those filings only capture part of the story, since reporting requirements vary by state.
An October Reuters report suggested Amazon could eliminate up to 30,000 corporate jobs total — nearly 10% of its 350,000 office staff. The company is streamlining operations after pandemic-era hiring sprees, with cuts hitting human resources, operations, devices, and services.
CEO Andy Jassy has been clear about where this is heading: AI adoption will increasingly replace repetitive roles. Amazon is rolling out its own AI coding assistant called Kiro, joining rivals deploying similar tools. Mid-level software engineers (SDE II) were disproportionately affected as AI fundamentally changes how companies build code.
The layoffs extended beyond engineering, hitting product and program managers, senior leaders, and creative roles across gaming, visual search, and advertising. Amazon halted most big-budget MMO game development and cut teams behind AI shopping tools like Amazon Lens. More than 140 jobs in its New York ad business were also eliminated.
Despite the cuts, Amazon still plans to hire 250,000 seasonal workers for the holidays and remains the second-largest U.S. private employer with more than 1.54 million workers. The $2.32 trillion tech giant's stock gained 11% over the last 12 months.
