Amazon confirmed Thursday morning that it’s cutting jobs within its Amazon Web Services cloud division after a review of its organization and strategic needs.
The company didn’t disclose the number of people impacted, but Reuters reported that the layoffs will affect hundreds of jobs, at least, citing two unnamed sources.
Amazon said the job cuts were not primarily driven by AI, but stemmed from a broader review that identified areas to streamline based on its current priorities.
“After a thorough review of our organization, our priorities, and what we need to focus on going forward, we’ve made the difficult business decision to eliminate some roles across particular teams in AWS,” said Amazon spokesman Brad Glasser in response to GeekWire’s inquiry.
He added, “We didn’t make these decisions lightly, and we’re committed to supporting the employees throughout their transition. These decisions are necessary as we continue to invest, hire, and optimize resources to deliver innovation for our customers.”
Last month, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told employees that generative AI will fundamentally reshape work at the company. He wrote that AI and agents will mean “fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs.”
Jassy predicted that over the next few years, this will ultimately reduce Amazon’s total corporate workforce as the company gains efficiency from using AI extensively.
Amazon said it’s offering support to affected AWS employees in the U.S., including at least 60 days of pay and benefits, access to transitional health coverage, job placement assistance, and eligibility for severance. The company added that wherever possible, it sought to help impacted workers find new roles internally.
While some teams are seeing cuts, Amazon noted that it continues to hire in core areas, with thousands of open roles across AWS.
The layoffs come shortly after the close of Amazon’s second quarter and ahead of the company’s earnings report.
AWS revenue rose to $29.3 billion in the first quarter, while maintaining its position as Amazon’s most profitable division, with $11.5 billion in operating profits. However, the 16.9% revenue increase was its lowest year-over-year quarterly growth rate in more than a year.
The AWS layoffs are part of a broader wave of tech industry cuts in 2025, as companies including Microsoft, Disney, Salesforce, and others reevaluate staffing needs to reflect shifting market conditions and investment priorities amid the rise of artificial intelligence.
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