October 31, 2025 – This week, Amazon made headlines by announcing a significant workforce reduction, with 14,000 employees set to leave the company. Contrary to what many might assume, the decision was not driven by a need to cut costs or a strategic pivot toward artificial intelligence. Instead, Amazon’s leadership pointed to a deeper issue: corporate culture.
According to a report by Business Insider, Andy Jassy, Amazon’s CEO, addressed the layoffs for the first time during the company’s quarterly earnings call on Thursday. Jassy clarified that the recent move was not a response to financial constraints or the rise of AI—at least not directly. “The decision we made a few days ago wasn’t about financial pressure or reacting to AI,” he said. “It was about our culture.”
Over the past few years, Jassy has focused on transforming Amazon’s corporate culture. His vision includes raising performance standards, tightening management practices, and reducing internal bureaucracy to make the company more agile. This week’s layoffs represent the largest personnel adjustment since late 2022, when Amazon cut 27,000 jobs.
Jassy explained that Amazon’s rapid growth in recent years had led to an overly complex organizational structure, slowing down decision-making. He emphasized that in an era of rapid technological change, especially with AI reshaping industries, the company needed a leaner, more responsive framework. “Too many layers in an organization can dilute the sense of ownership among those who actually do the work, ultimately slowing us down,” he added.
Amazon is not alone in this effort. Other tech giants like Google and Microsoft are also pursuing “flatter” management structures to eliminate bureaucracy and enable faster decision-making.
Amazon also revealed that the layoffs from the previous quarter are expected to incur approximately $1.8 billion in severance costs. The company had previously stated that this week’s job cuts were a proactive measure, as AI is enabling businesses to innovate at an unprecedented pace.
