Amazon, the preeminent behemoth in U.S. technology and e-commerce, has unveiled significant layoffs through a WARN notification, with software developers and managerial staff poised to be affected starting in late April 2026.
This impending reduction marks the company’s most extensive corporate workforce contraction to date. A recent filing, made public on February 3, 2025, by the state’s Employment Security Department, reveals Amazon’s intention to eliminate 2,198 corporate positions in Washington state, commencing in April 2026.
This workforce reduction dovetails with a broader initiative, encompassing approximately 16,000 corporate roles worldwide.
The WARN letter was issued to comply with obligations stipulated under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, as well as the Washington Securing Timely Notification and Benefits for Laid-Off Employees Act, outlining that employee separations at designated facilities within Washington state will begin on April 28, 2026.
According to the filing, the brunt of job losses will occur in Amazon’s Seattle and Bellevue offices, with the Seattle region serving as the company’s central corporate hub, facing the most profound impact.
These layoffs are expected to reverberate across Seattle’s economy, which heavily depends on high-earning tech professionals who significantly bolster the city’s tax revenue.
Beth Galetti, Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology at Amazon, articulated on the company’s official platform that efforts have been underway to fortify organizational structure by minimizing layers, enhancing accountability, and dismantling bureaucratic obstacles.
She noted that while several teams had concluded their structural revisions by October, others only recently finalized the exercise. Galetti indicated that the reductions would encompass roughly 16,000 positions across Amazon, underlining the company’s commitment to support affected employees.
Galetti further elaborated that the majority of U.S.-based employees would be allotted 90 days to pursue internal opportunities, with timelines differing internationally depending on local stipulations.
Those who neither found nor sought alternate roles would be granted transition assistance, which could include severance pay, outplacement services, health insurance benefits where applicable, and additional support measures.
Amazon Layoffs Reshape Seattle Workforce as Company Pledges Efficiency and Innovation
The company contends that these restructuring endeavors will minimize organizational complexities, bolster accountability across teams, and mitigate bureaucratic inefficiencies. Specifically, Amazon plans to eliminate 1,407 positions in Seattle, 626 in Bellevue, and 30 in Redmond, with layoffs anticipated to continue through June.
Jake Novak, host of The REAL “American Sunrise Early Edition,” remarked that these white-collar layoffs signal a strategic pivot away from the “politically motivated hiring” paradigm that characterized the company’s approach over the past dozen years.
He noted that lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., aimed at circumventing antitrust scrutiny were instrumental to this strategy, along with the decision to establish HQ2 in that region.
Galetti concluded the correspondence by asserting that the company does not intend to establish a new cadence of widespread layoffs at regular intervals.
She emphasized that each team would persist in evaluating ownership, agility, and the capacity for customer-driven innovation, making necessary adjustments, particularly in a rapidly evolving landscape.
Galetti conveyed appreciation to the teams for their steadfast commitment to delivering for both customers and each other, as well as for the collective efforts they are forging together.
Source link: Eand.co.
