Overview
- Internal emails from AWS leaders urged heavier use of technology and AI and said U.S. and Canada layoff notifications are complete, with other regions following local processes.
- Amazon said AI was not the reason behind the vast majority of the reductions, describing the move as reducing layers and bureaucracy to boost speed and ownership.
- Economists say evidence that AI directly caused the cuts is limited, and a Jan. 16 Goldman Sachs tracker found very few layoffs attributed to AI at that point.
- Regulatory notices show roughly 5,000 additional retail jobs will be eliminated with the closure of most Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores.
- Accounts from long‑tenured former employees describe exits as not performance-related and linked to cost-cutting or automation, as firms like Pinterest and Dow explicitly connect their own layoffs to AI-focused strategies.