Amazon finalizes a plan to cut back up to 30.000 corporate positions worldwide, in what would be the largest office adjustment in its history. The measure is part of a reorganization initiated in 2022 and would affect a significant portion of its office workforce without directly disrupting delivery operations.
According to specialized media and international agencies, the cut will be communicated in phases, with notifications that could start this Tuesday in several divisionsThe figure is equivalent to about 8,5% of the approximately 350.000 corporate employees of the company, within a company that, in total, exceeds one and a half million workers in all its lines of business.
Scope of the cuts and affected areas
The departures will be concentrated in the corporate and administrative structure, with special emphasis on human resources, operations, devices, services and, to a lesser extent, technology units like AWSAccording to team leaders, dismissal emails will be sent to those affected throughout the week.
This adjustment does not target frontline warehouse or delivery staff. Various sources indicate that no significant impacts are expected in the logistics network that supports e-commerce, something that is particularly sensitive in the face of peak demand season.
In Europe, including Spain, the company has not detailed the breakdown by country. It has reiterated that the measure is part of a global resizing to gain efficiency after years of heavy hiring during the pandemic, when the e-commerce giant rapidly expanded its footprint.
This decision comes after Amazon removed around 27.000 positions between 2022 and 2023I have never undertaken an office downsizing before. comparable magnitude in a single movement, according to sources consulted by the media.
Why now: costs, over-hiring, and the rise of AI
The company is looking for contain costs and simplify structures after the over-hiring of the COVID-19 years. In parallel, it is accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence and automation to gain productivity, a factor that CEO Andy Jassy himself has pointed out as a lever for reorganizing functions.
Jassy warned the staff that the Generative AI will change the way we work, with less need for some tasks and more demand for others. Along these lines, several reports point to automation plans that would allow avoid future hiring in certain areas; the company, however, clarifies that the robots are designed to support employees and improve safety and efficiency.
Industry sources point out that this package of cuts coexists with strategic investments in AWS, AI and robotics, areas that will continue to absorb capital. The goal is to reallocate resources towards businesses with the greatest potential, while trim structure on duplicate functions or less critical.
Beyond the headlines about automation, Amazon insists that it will continue to strengthen key teams and that the Personnel decisions are evaluated by unit and performance, not as a single policy for the entire organization.
The context of the sector and Amazon's accounts
The restructuring is announced just before a new earnings presentation. Analysts anticipate revenues growing by around 11% year-on-year and slight pressure on net profit by increased investments in AI and logistics, in addition to the costs associated with the adjustment itself.
In the last reported semester, Amazon reported a net profit of 35.291 million dollars and sales of 323.369 million, figures that confirm the good tone of the income despite the environment of high rates and competition in the cloud, where competes with Microsoft and Google.
Meanwhile, the tech sector has seen tens of thousands of cuts so far this year. Tracking platforms like Layoffs.fyi estimate that Nearly 98.000 jobs have already been lost in more than two hundred companies, reflecting a normalization after the pandemic and the shift towards higher-margin businesses.
Despite the adjustments, the end-of-year campaign is holding its own. Amazon has announced that plans to incorporate 250.000 temporary workers to meet seasonal peak demand, a sign that commercial operations will continue at full capacity.
After the reduction plans were announced, the market reacted with moderate advances in the company's value, in a reading that the cut would improve efficiency and the company's medium-term cost profile.
In the absence of country-by-country confirmations, the picture that emerges is that of a significant cuts in offices and corporate functions, accompanied by increased automation and a focus on strategic businesses, while logistics and commercial activity continues to be geared toward sustaining growth and demand in Europe and other regions.
