Athira Sethu
Kochi, 28 Oct 2025
Amazon will begin laying off between 30,000 and possibly more corporate employees as early as Tuesday. Although it sounds like a lot, it’s only a tiny percentage of the company’s entire staff, which numbers about 1.55 million individuals. Those cuts will impact nearly 10% of Amazon’s 350,000 corporate staff, though. This is likely to be the largest employment cut since Amazon eliminated about 27,000 jobs in late 2022.
The stock of the company gained 1.5%, trading at $227.53 a share, and it is to announce its third-quarter earnings report on Thursday.
The motive for the layoffs, according to sources, is Amazon’s attempt to cut expenses and align itself after having hired excessively amid the pandemic, when demand was high. In the last two years, Amazon has already sliced smaller budgets in other departments such as devices, communications, and podcasting. The layoffs beginning this week are set to affect various divisions, including human resources (referred to as People Experience and Technology), devices and services, and operations.
The managers of the teams impacted by the layoffs were also sensitized on how to communicate with employees. The notifications of the job cuts will be done via email from tomorrow morning.
Other Firms Reducing Jobs
It’s not the only firm reducing jobs. Target recently said it’s cutting roughly 1,800 corporate positions. The move is part of the company’s strategy to streamline decision-making and drive more customers to its stores.
Out of 1,800 jobs being eliminated, 1,000 employees will be alerted next week and Target also expects to axe some 800 vacant positions. The reductions amount to roughly 8% of Target’s corporate staff, with most of the targeted workers based at its Minneapolis headquarters.
Target’s Chief Operating Officer, Michael Fiddelke, who will assume the role of CEO in February, told employees about the job cuts and requested Minneapolis-based workers to work remotely next week. Additional information regarding the layoffs will be made public on Tuesday.
In both Amazon’s and Target’s situations, these layoffs are components of a broader trend of firms attempting to cut costs and streamline their operations following the disruptions caused by the pandemic.
