Amazon.com Inc. is bracing for another round of deep job cuts, with plans to eliminate thousands more corporate positions as early as next week, pushing the total toward 30,000 roles across its sprawling empire. Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that the second wave, mirroring the roughly 14,000 positions trimmed in October, targets white-collar workers in Amazon Web Services, retail, Prime Video and human resources, known internally as People Experience and Technology. If completed, these reductions would eclipse the company’s previous record of 27,000 cuts in 2022, marking the largest purge in Amazon’s three-decade history.

The moves come amid CEO Andy Jassy’s aggressive push to dismantle layers of bureaucracy built up during the pandemic hiring boom. In an internal memo from the October cuts, Amazon linked the changes to artificial intelligence, stating, “this generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the internet, and it’s enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before.” Yet Jassy clarified during the third-quarter earnings call that the layoffs were “not financially driven or directly connected to AI, but rather the result of excessive bureaucracy,” adding, “You end up with a lot more people than what you had before, and you end up with a lot more layers.”

Impacted employees from the first round received a 90-day grace period to seek internal roles, with recruiting teams prioritizing them—a window expiring January 26, per Fox Business. Managers had options to execute cuts in October or defer to early 2026, signaling a deliberate, phased approach, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.

Targeting Corporate Bloat in Core Divisions

The roughly 30,000 jobs at stake represent nearly 10% of Amazon’s 350,000-person corporate workforce, a fraction of its 1.58 million total employees mostly in warehouses. AWS, the profit engine facing slower growth versus rivals, eyes reductions in legacy support and administrative roles even as it ramps up generative AI and data center spending. Prime Video, retail operations and the HR arm face similar scrutiny for high-salary positions amid a shift to flatter structures.

“Cuts are concentrated in corporate layers, not frontline ops,” noted workforce analyst Amanda Goodall on X, highlighting pressure on AWS support and PXT. Amazon’s annual AWS conference in December showcased new AI models, underscoring automation’s role in efficiencies Jassy predicted would shrink headcount.

These actions build on years of trimming: hundreds cut from AWS in 2024, North America stores in 2025, and ongoing reductions since 2022’s 27,000 jobs vanished. State filings later revealed thousands of engineers bore the brunt of October’s cuts, per CNBC reports from late 2025.

Bureaucracy Busting Meets AI Acceleration

Jassy launched an anonymous complaint line last year, yielding 1,500 responses and over 450 process changes to root out inefficiencies. A stringent return-to-office mandate failed to spur enough voluntary exits, contributing to the layoff scale, Reuters sources said. The company plans capital expenditures topping $125 billion in 2026, funneled into AI infrastructure, chips and data centers, as CFO Brian Olsavsky indicated.

While Amazon insists cuts target excess layers, not finances or AI directly, the timing aligns with tech peers slashing jobs amid AI hype. Layoffs.fyi tracked 98,000 tech cuts in 2025 across 216 firms, with Amazon’s moves amplifying a white-collar reckoning. Reddit’s r/Layoffs forum buzzed with insider leaks, noting L8 and L10 leaders prepped for lawsuits and key personnel protections, though Amazon never officially announced 2026 plans.

X posts from employees and observers, like Shazi’s viral thread, tallied impacts: “30,000 corporate jobs targeted… Hits AWS, Retail, Prime Video, HR… Largest layoff in Amazon’s history.” Internal chatter on Blind and Reddit warned of performance improvement plans preceding notifications.

Broader Ripples in Tech’s Job Market

Amazon’s purge unfolds against a weakening white-collar market dubbed “low-hire, low-fire,” now fracturing under AI and cost pressures. Over 100 firms, from Nike to Verizon, announced 2026 cuts, per Business Insider. Amazon’s robots could displace 500,000 U.S. workers by 2027, avoiding 160,000 hires, reports suggested, redirecting capital from people to machines.

PCMag and others echoed Reuters: departments like AWS, Prime Video and HR in the crosshairs, with no official comment from Amazon. Hindustan Times noted managers’ deferral options, fluid scope and focus on high-cost roles as PXT automates hiring. DNA India pegged a potential 16,000 in the next wave starting January 27.

For industry insiders, this signals Jassy’s “largest startup” vision: leaner, AI-fueled, post-pandemic reset. Corporate morale, already shaken, faces fresh tests as Amazon reallocates billions from payroll to innovation engines driving its next growth phase.