Amazon’s most recent layoffs impact more than 2,000 Seattle-area employees

More than 2,000 Amazon employees in the Seattle area were impacted in the layoffs announced last week.

According to the Employment Security Department (ESD), 2,198 Seattle-area employees were among the approximately 16,000 roles cut. Amazon first announced the layoffs on Jan. 28.

More than 1,400 employees were based in Seattle specifically, with another 630 in Bellevue. Software development engineer was the most affected role in the layoffs.

Amazon cuts 16,000 roles in its latest round of layoffs

Amazon slashed about 16,000 corporate roles in the second round of mass layoffs for the e-commerce company in three months.

The tech giant has said it plans to use generative artificial intelligence (AI) to replace corporate workers. It has also been reducing a workforce that swelled during the pandemic.

Beth Galetti, a senior vice president at Amazon, said in a blog post Wednesday that the company has been “reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy.”

The company did not say what business units would be impacted, or where the job cuts would occur. An exclusive report from Reuters last week revealed that a large wave of layoffs was expected to happen later this month.

These job cuts are considered the next round of layoffs that first occurred in October, two sources who asked not to be identified told Reuters. During the October round of layoffs, 14,000 employees were laid off.

Galetti said U.S.-based staff would be given 90 days to look for a new role internally. Those who are unsuccessful or don’t want a new job will be offered severance pay, outplacement services, and health insurance benefits, she said.

“While we’re making these changes, we’ll also continue hiring and investing in strategic areas and functions that are critical to our future,” Galetti said.

CEO Andy Jassy, who has aggressively cut costs since succeeding founder Jeff Bezos in 2021, said in June that he anticipated generative AI would reduce Amazon’s corporate workforce in the next few years.

The layoffs announced Wednesday are Amazon’s biggest since 2023, when the company cut 27,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, Amazon and other Big Tech and retail companies have cut thousands of jobs to bring spending back in line following the COVID-19 pandemic. Amazon’s workforce doubled as millions stayed home and boosted online spending.

The job cuts have not arrived with a company on shaky financial ground.

In its most recent quarter, Amazon’s profits jumped nearly 40% to about $21 billion, and revenue soared to more than $180 billion.

Late last year, after layoffs, Jassy said job cuts weren’t driven by company finances or AI.

“It’s culture,” he said in October. “And if you grow as fast as we did for several years, the size of businesses, the number of people, the number of locations, the types of businesses you’re in, you end up with a lot more people than what you had before, and you end up with a lot more layers.”

Hiring has stagnated in the U.S. and, in December, the country added a meager 50,000 jobs, nearly unchanged from a downwardly revised figure of 56,000 in November.

Labor data points to a reluctance by businesses to add workers even as economic growth has picked up. Many companies hired aggressively after the pandemic and no longer need to fill more jobs. Others have held back due to widespread uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s shifting tariff policies, elevated inflation, and the spread of artificial intelligence, which could alter or even replace some jobs.

While economists have described the labor situation in the U.S as a “no hire-no fire” environment, some companies have said they are cutting back on jobs, even this week.

On Tuesday, UPS said it planned to cut up to 30,000 operational jobs through attrition and buyouts this year as the package delivery company reduces the number of shipments from what was its largest customer, Amazon.

That followed 34,000 job cuts in October at UPS and the closing of daily operations at 93 leased and owned buildings during the first nine months of last year.

Also on Tuesday, Pinterest said it plans to lay off under 15% of its workforce, as part of a broader restructuring that arrives as the image-sharing platform pivots more of its money to artificial intelligence.

Shares of Amazon Inc., based in Seattle, rose slightly before the opening bell Wednesday.

Amazon pulls plug on Amazon Fresh, Go stores; doubles down on Whole Foods, delivery

Amazon is shuttering all of its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh locations, the company announced Tuesday.

There are 72 stores — 57 Amazon Fresh and 15 remaining Amazon Go — nationwide.

Amazon described the move as a strategic shift, not a retreat from grocery sales and deliveries. The tech giant stated it is concentrating its efforts on its Whole Foods Market locations and grocery delivery from its website. Amazon purchased Whole Foods for $13.7 billion in 2017.

“Over two decades ago, we started adding groceries and everyday household essentials to Amazon.com,” the company stated in a press release. “Today, Amazon is one of the top three grocers in the U.S., with over $150 billion in gross sales and more than 150 million customers shopping groceries each year.”

In turn, Amazon is expected to open more than 100 Whole Foods Markets over the next few years. With this move, Whole Foods will become Amazon’s only physical store brand in the U.S.

The final day for all Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go locations outside California will be Feb. 1. According to GeekWire, California stores will remain open for 45 more days due to state labor notification requirements.

Contributing: The Associated Press