Amazon is expecting to cut approximately 14,000 corporate roles as part of a significant internal restructuring plan, according to a message sent to employees on Tuesday and subsequently shared with MassLive by the company.
The company's goal is to become "more leanly organized, with fewer layers and more ownership" to accelerate its investment in artificial intelligence (AI), the employee message reads.
Amazon previously stated plans to spend over $100 billion on capital expenditures this year to expand its cloud and AI data centers, calling AI "the most transformative technology we've seen since the internet."
The cuts, which begin this week, also follow a period of over-hiring during the peak demand of the pandemic, sources told Reuters . The company has a total of 1.55 million employees.
The layoffs could affect a variety of roles including Human Resources (known as People Experience and Technology), operations, devices and services; and Amazon Web Services.
Managers of affected teams were asked to complete training on Monday for how to communicate with employees following emails set to go out on Tuesday morning, Reuters said.
"We're working hard to support everyone whose role is impacted, including offering most employees 90 days to look for a new role internally (the timing will vary some based on local laws), and our recruiting teams will prioritize internal candidates to help as many people as possible find new roles within Amazon," the message says. "For our teammates who are unable to find a new role at Amazon or who choose not to look for one, we'll offer them transition support including severance pay, outplacement services, health insurance benefits, and more."
While corporate roles are being reduced, Amazon recently announced its plan to hire 250,000 seasonal employees for its U.S. warehouse and logistics network for the holiday season.
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