Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the company’s latest big round of layoffs — about 14,000 corporate jobs — wasn’t triggered by financial pressures or replacing artificial intelligence workers, but rather a pressure to stay nimble.
Speaking to analysts on Amazon’s quarterly “Amazon CEO” earnings call Thursday, Jacey said the decision stemmed from a belief that the company had become too big and too layered.
“The announcement we made a few days ago wasn’t really financial-driven, and it’s not really AI-driven — not right now, at least,” he said. “Really, it’s culture.”
Amazon CEO
Jassy’s comments are his first public explanation of the layoffs, which allegedly That could ultimately total up to 30,000 people — and would be the biggest layoff in Amazon’s history.
This week’s news fueled speculation that the cuts were linked to automation or AI-related restructuring. Earlier this year Jassy wrote a Memo To employees, he expected Amazon’s total corporate workforce to shrink over “Amazon CEO” time due to efficiency gains from AI.
But his comments on Thursday framed the layoffs as a cultural reset aimed at keeping the company up to speed, saying “technological change is happening now.
Jacey, who replaces founder Jeff Bezos as CEO in mid-2021, has pushed to reduce management levels and eliminate bureaucracy within the company. Amazon’s corporate headcount has tripled between 2017 and 2022 InformationBefore the company adopted a more careful recruitment approach.
Amazon CEO
Bloomberg News Report Jacey told colleagues this week that parts of the company remain “unruly” despite efforts to streamline operations — including significant layoffs in 2023 when Amazon cuts 27,000 corporate jobs in multiple phases.
On Thursday’s call, Jassey said Amazon’s rapid growth has led to additional layers of management that slow down decision-making.
“When that happens, sometimes without realizing it, you can undermine the ownership of the people who are doing the real work and who own most of the decisions on the two-way door — the ones that should be made quickly and accurately on the front lines,” Jacey said, using a phrase Popularized by Bezos To help determine how much thought and planning goes into big and small decisions.
The layoffs, he said, are meant to restore the ownership and agility that defined Amazon’s early years.
“We’re committed to acting like the world’s biggest startup,” Jassi said, repeating a line He recently used.
Given the “transformation” he describes throughout the business world, Jassy says, it’s more important than ever to be lean, lean and agile. “That’s what we’re going to do,” he said.
Amazon CEO
Jassey’s comments came as Amazon reported quarterly revenue of $180.2 billion, up 13% year over year, as AWS revenue growth accelerated to 20% — its fastest pace since 2022.
Amazon said it took a $1.8 billion severance-related charge in the quarter related to the layoffs.
Amazon joins other tech giants, including Microsoft, that have cut headcount this year while investing heavily in AI infrastructure.
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