Upon arriving in Bengaluru after the Diwali festivities, Divya Porwal’s friend was greeted not by celebratory greetings but rather by a stark email from Amazon announcing his layoff.
“Eager to return, he boarded the flight back, brimming with anticipation,” Porwal disclosed on X. “Yet, upon landing, he activated his phone—there it was, a layoff notification from Amazon.”
This social media post is among numerous others that have surfaced this week following Amazon.com Inc.’s revelation of its intention to eliminate nearly 14,000 corporate positions—marking one of its most substantial workforce reductions in recent memory.
This decision comes on the heels of months of cautionary remarks from Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy, who indicated that artificial intelligence (AI) would increasingly automate tasks traditionally performed by human staff.
Shock and narratives of loss
Another individual, Siya, recounted the story of a relative who was laid off on Tuesday.
“He often boasted about his salary and position… Yet, my sympathy extends to him and his family. With a three-year-old child, this situation must be exceedingly challenging. It serves as a poignant reminder of the precarious nature of employment these days.”
A third contributor, Prapti, provided a haunting narrative of how the layoffs unfolded in real-time:
“My friend at Amazon witnessed an entire team, including their manager, being terminated right before her eyes. The testing teams were the first to be cut. Laptops were seized on-site—and that was that.”
Departments affected, AI emphasized
In a blog entry, Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience and technology at Amazon, stated:
“The reductions we are announcing today are part of a broader initiative to enhance our efficiency by further minimizing bureaucracy, eliminating layers, and reallocating resources to ensure we are prioritizing our most critical ventures.”
A Bloomberg report indicated that the layoffs have impacted various divisions, including logistics, payments, video games, and cloud computing.
Following the announcement, numerous Amazon employees flocked to internal chat platforms and social media to discuss which teams were affected, share received notifications, and exchange strategies for recovering personal files before their system access was revoked.
By the numbers
- 14,000 corporate positions eliminated (approximately 4% of the workforce)
- Current corporate headcount: 350,000
- Total workforce: 1.55 million, predominantly in warehouses
- Prior layoffs (2022–23): 27,000 roles
These latest reductions follow earlier reports that suggested Amazon might reduce as many as 30,000 positions, representing a scale that would surpass its last significant workforce reduction during the post-pandemic cost-trimming phase.
The broader context
Amazon asserts that this restructuring is a component of a more extensive endeavor to optimize operations and redirect investments toward AI and cloud infrastructure—domains deemed essential for future growth.
However, the deluge of sudden termination accounts on social media has reignited discussions regarding the transformative influence of automation on employment within the realm of Big Tech.
Source link: Livemint.com.
