Tech giant Amazon has announced a massive layoff of nearly 14,000 employees, n initiative that has impacted the engineering team the most. Amazon’s WARN filings in New York, California, New Jersey, and Washington state show that nearly 40% of more than 4,700 job losses were in engineering roles. This is being regarded as the largest reduction in Amazon’s 31-year history and highlights that the technical team has been hit the hardest.
The company has long been trying to move toward a model that CEO Andy Jassy describes as the “world’s largest startup.” Jassy’s focus is on making Amazon a fast-moving organisation with fewer layers. Rapid hiring during and after the pandemic added several layers to the company, causing delays in decision-making. Hence, Jassy has described the layoffs as part of the process to improve the company’s culture.
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Artificial Intelligence Is Driving Major Changes
As per a report by CNBC, Human Resources Head Beth Galetti said that today’s rapidly changing AI landscape requires companies to innovate with fewer people. Amazon has also stated that it is shifting its resources toward AI investments but clarified that not all layoffs are linked to AI—instead, they are part of efforts to make the organisation more streamlined.
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WARN data indicated that the layoffs affected different levels of software engineers, with mid-level engineers being the most impacted. Meanwhile, the growing adoption of AI tools and automated coding platforms has also made software development jobs more challenging.
Industry-Wide Layoffs Continue
Tech companies across the market have been facing similar challenges. Before Amazon’s announcement, telecommunications giant Verizon began informing employees about its largest-ever round of layoffs. According to media reports, the company has cut close to 13,000 jobs as part of an aggressive cost-reduction strategy led by the new CEO, Dan Schulman, aimed at reversing recent customer losses and repositioning the telecom giant for long-term growth.
According to an email trail reported by The Wall Street Journal, Verizon will start notifying U.S. employees on Thursday, while international employees may receive notices over the coming weeks. The layoffs come amid intense competition in both the wireless and home internet markets, where rivals AT&T and T-Mobile have succeeded in adding new subscribers, while Verizon has struggled.
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