Amazon Lays Off Several Hundred Employees, Of Amazon Web Services Division, Broader Effort To Streamline Operations

Amazon laid off several hundred employees across the Amazon Web Services division. According to Business Today, this move was confirmed on Thursday and is a part of the broader effort to streamline operations.

“We’ve made the difficult business decision to eliminate some roles across particular teams in AWS,” an Amazon spokesperson said. “These decisions are necessary as we continue to invest, hire, and optimise resources to deliver innovation for our customers.”

Reuters reported that the system access of the employees was revoked shortly after, and employees were informed of their termination via email. Among the teams impacted is a group known internally as “specialists,” who work directly with clients to support the rollout of new AWS products and services.

Including at Kindle and Goodreads, the layoffs follow earlier cuts in Amazon’s books division, as well as in its devices and services teams, Wondery podcast unit, and retail and communications departments.

CEO Andy Jassy has a goal of cutting down what he describes as unnecessary bureaucracy within Amazon. The round of job reductions reflects this goal, says Business Today.

As part of this strategy, the company is focusing on reducing layers of management and integrating artificial intelligence more deeply into its workflows. Jassy recently told staff that AI will increasingly reduce the need for certain corporate roles over time.

Despite the layoffs, Amazon reported a solid first quarter for AWS. The cloud business posted a 17 percent increase in revenue year-on-year, reaching $29.3 billion. Operating income also rose by 23 percent, totalling $11.5 billion.

According to a filing from May, Amazon added approximately 4,000 new jobs in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the previous quarter, suggesting the company is reallocating resources rather than broadly shrinking its workforce.