At Amazon, two very different stories are unfolding simultaneously.
On the one hand, the company is pouring billions into artificial intelligence, racing to build data centers, AI tools, and automated systems it believes will define the next era of technology. On the other hand, more employees are finding themselves caught in another wave of corporate restructuring as the retail giant trims teams across its business.
The latest cuts affect Amazon’s Selling Partner Services division, a unit that works closely with third-party merchants to handle onboarding, logistics support, and account management on the platform, reports Business Insider. While the company described the latest reduction as relatively small, it arrives after months of workforce cuts across multiple departments under CEO Andy Jassy.
According to reports, Amazon has eliminated close to 30,000 roles over the past six months as it continues reshaping operations and tightening costs after years of rapid expansion during the pandemic.
Amazon’s restructuring phase is far from over: Layoff details and severance
The company confirmed that employees in the Selling Partner Services team were affected by the latest restructuring.
“We regularly review our organization to ensure we’re best set up to deliver on our goals,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. “Following a recent review, we’ve made the difficult decision to eliminate a relatively small number of roles in our Selling Partner Services team,” reports Business Insider.
Amazon added that affected workers would receive separation packages, temporary healthcare coverage, and support with finding new jobs.
The cuts follow earlier layoffs announced in October and January, as well as additional reductions in Amazon’s robotics division earlier this year. The continued restructuring highlights how aggressively the company is attempting to streamline operations while reallocating resources towards faster-growing priorities.
For employees, however, the timing has intensified anxieties around artificial intelligence and automation.
Amazon has increasingly encouraged internal teams to integrate AI tools into everyday workflows, automating repetitive tasks to improve operational efficiency. While the company frames this as a productivity shift, some workers fear it may gradually reduce the need for certain roles altogether.
Jassy himself acknowledged those concerns last year, saying that advances in AI could eventually help “reduce” parts of Amazon’s workforce.
Why Amazon believes AI spending will pay off
Even as layoffs continue, Amazon’s spending on artificial intelligence is only accelerating.
The company previously revealed plans to invest roughly $200 billion in capital expenditure, much of it directed towards AI infrastructure, including data centers and computing systems needed to support future AI products.
Speaking recently on CNBC’s Mad Money, Jassy defended the scale of those investments and urged investors not to worry about the company’s rising AI costs.
“We believe that AI is the biggest technology transformation in our lifetimes,” Jassy said. “It’s going to reinvent every single customer experience we know and altogether new ones we never imagined.”
He argued that moments of technological transition require companies to invest aggressively rather than cautiously.
“When you have shifts that are this momentous … you want to bet big,” he added.
Initially, Amazon’s enormous AI spending plans unsettled some investors, contributing to a temporary drop in the company’s shares after earnings. But the stock later rebounded and has since climbed to new highs, suggesting markets are beginning to buy into Amazon’s long-term AI strategy.
The bigger question now is how many more organizational changes employees may need to endure while that future is being built.
