E-commerce and tech giant Amazon is reportedly preparing for a new wave of layoffs, specifically targeting its human resources department, internally known as the People eXperience Technology (PTX) team. Sources cited by Fortune suggest that as much as 15% of the HR roles, which comprise over 10,000 staff globally, could be slashed. While the HR department is expected to bear the brunt of these cuts, other core consumer business departments within Amazon could also experience some impact. Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel declined to comment on the matter.

These anticipated job reductions are part of Amazon's broader strategy to curtail employee costs, a move that aligns with the company's significant investment in artificial intelligence products and infrastructure. The report indicates that Amazon plans to allocate over $100 billion in capital expenditure in 2025. This substantial investment is earmarked for the construction of AI data centers and cloud computing facilities, which will serve both external customers and Amazon's internal operations.

This round of layoffs follows a period from late 2022 into 2023 when Amazon CEO Andy Jassy authorized at least 27,000 job cuts, predominantly within the company's corporate offices. This earlier phase of workforce reduction mirrored similar actions taken by other major tech companies like Meta and Google during that time. CEO Jassy has been a vocal proponent of AI adoption within Amazon, emphasizing its transformative potential.

In a June company memo, Andy Jassy urged employees to "embrace this change" regarding AI. He wrote, "Those who embrace this change, become conversant in AI, help us build and improve our AI capabilities internally and deliver for customers, will be well-positioned to have high impact and help us reinvent the company." He further articulated the expected outcome, stating, "We expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company," directly linking AI integration to corporate workforce optimization.

Contrasting with the corporate layoffs, Amazon is also ramping up its workforce for the upcoming peak holiday season. The company announced plans to hire 250,000 workers for full-time, part-time, and seasonal roles. A company statement detailed that temporary workers would earn an average of $19 per hour, while permanent positions would offer an average of $23 per hour. A Bloomberg report noted that this figure of 250,000 holiday hires remains consistent with the numbers from the previous two years, indicating a stable demand for seasonal operational staff despite strategic corporate shifts.