Amazon is preparing for a significant wave of layoffs once more. According to reports, the firm is planning to lay off up to 15% of the employees in its human resources department, which is internally referred to as the People eXperience and Technology (PXT) team.
The HR department will be the most severely impacted, according to many individuals Fortune cited, though job losses may also occur in other areas of Amazon’s sizable consumer business. As Amazon invests billions in its cloud and AI activities, the cutbacks are made.
Building next-generation data centres to support AI infrastructure for internal usage and business clients will account for a large portion of the company’s over $100 billion in capital investments this year.
Amazon Relying More on AI than Humans
AI will characterise this new era, and not all employees will make the shift, according to CEO Andy Jassy, who took over from Jeff Bezos in 2021. Jassy encouraged employees to support Amazon’s AI initiative in a June company-wide memo, stating that those who do so, learn about AI, assist Amazon in developing and enhancing its AI capabilities internally, and provide for customers will be in a strong position to make a significant contribution and assist in the company’s transformation.
However, he cautioned that the corporation anticipates a reduction in its overall staff as a result of the efficiency gains from the widespread use of AI throughout the organisation.
Amazon Changing its Hiring Strategies
Amazon has already experienced the biggest layoffs in its history under Jassy’s direction, eliminating almost 27,000 corporate positions between 2022 and 2023. The latest round of cuts is more strategic and linked to a long-term change towards AI-driven operations, whereas those cuts were primarily motivated by post-pandemic overexpansion and shifting consumer habits.
The irony is not lost on anyone: Amazon is increasing its holiday hiring binge while also getting ready to fire white-collar employees. In order to meet holiday demand, the company recently revealed intentions to hire 250,000 seasonal workers across its logistics network and facilities in the United States. Jassy has established a reputation as a cost-discipline enforcer within the organisation.
He is renowned for encouraging teams to reach a particular level of “unregretted attrition”, or workers the business is at ease losing through managed exits or resignations. However, according to sources, these upcoming layoffs are not like the usual attrition cycles, suggesting a more extensive structural reorganisation. Amazon’s people operations could be one of the biggest victims of its own transition as it strives to become more effective and AI-focused. The writing may already be on the (data-centre) wall for many people in the PXT division.
Quick Shots
•Amazon plans major layoffs,
potentially affecting up to 15% of HR (PXT) staff.
•Human Resources (People
eXperience & Technology) most affected; other areas of consumer business
may also see cuts.
•Amazon’s strategic shift towards
AI-driven operations and efficiency gains.
•Over $100 billion invested this
year in AI infrastructure and next-gen data centres.
According to a recent Business Insider investigation into the tech giant’s cost-cutting tactics, Amazon employees are now required to declare what proportion of their use of company-issued phones is connected to business, with their $50 monthly reimbursements being lowered proportionately depending on personal use.
As firms trim their budgets after spending sprees during the pandemic, one of the most blatant manifestations of corporate penny-pinching is phone monitoring. According to the report, Amazon Web Services staff members must separate their personal and professional mobile usage, and the company will cut back on reimbursements for non-work-related use dollar for dollar.
Jassy’s Broader Cost-Cutting Strategy
Following his takeover from founder Jeff Bezos, CEO Andy Jassy has implemented a “hardcore culture reset” that includes the phone tracking. According to Business Insider’s report, Amazon has also adopted additional micromanagement strategies, such as asking store staff to itemise meal expenses and requesting permission for work trips by detailing expected goals and returns.
Amazon is keeping a close eye on costs in all aspects of its business. During staff meetings, CEOs frequently stress the importance of being economical. Jassy asks staff members to consider, “What would I do if this was my money?” before making decisions.
Changing Dynamics of America’s Corporate Sector
This kind of detailed oversight is part of a larger trend in corporate America, where businesses are closely examining employee spending that was formerly managed by general policies. Although few have put usage-based payment schemes in place, Meta, Google, and Microsoft have all raised performance standards in a similar manner.
According to Business Insider’s interview with Amazon employees, cost-cutting initiatives have “veered into micromanagement”, raising concerns about job security. Employees who consider company-provided devices as a routine perk of employment rather than a privilege that can be quantified are especially irritated by the phone monitoring.
A representative for Amazon defended the regulations, stating that they are part of the business’s return to its “performance-driven and fast-paced” roots and that being economical has always been a fundamental company value.
Amazon Closes Wondery Podcast Studio
As part of a significant restructuring of its audio division, Amazon has shut down its Wondery podcast studio and laying off some 110 employees, according to Bloomberg News. In light of industry-wide difficulties, the move represents the tech giant’s strategic shift away from its initial podcasting goals.
As current episodes are redistributed between Amazon’s Audible platform and a new “creator services” team devoted to personality-driven content, such as the well-liked Jason and Travis Kelce podcast, Wondery CEO Jen Sargent will also leave the firm. In an internal document seen by Bloomberg, Steve Boom, vice president of audio, Twitch, and games at Amazon, stated that the podcast industry has changed dramatically in recent years.
The definition of what it means to be a podcast developer has also become more hazy due to the popularity of video. During the podcast boom in 2020, Wondery was acquired by Amazon for about $300 million, enabling it to function independently at first with its own membership app. But when the medium changed, the business found it difficult to successfully compete with sites like YouTube and Spotify.
Quick
Shots
•$50
monthly reimbursement will be cut proportionately for personal use of phones.
•Part
of CEO Andy Jassy’s broader “culture reset” and penny-pinching measures.
•Staff
asked to itemize meal expenses and justify work trips with goals/returns.
•Mirrors
tighter employee spending oversight at Google, Meta, and Microsoft.
Andy R. Jassy is an American business executive who is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of Amazon. Before being appointed by Jeff Bezos and the Board of Amazon in the fourth quarter of 2020, Jassy was the SVP and CEO of Amazon Web Services from 2003 to 2021. Andy has emerged as a pivotal figure, especially in the domain of online retail and cloud computing. Being Jeff Bezos’ right-hand man for more than two decades, it is time to meet the man who helped shape the future of internet infrastructure.
Jassy is the son of Everett and Margery Jassy of Scarsdale, New York of Jewish Hungarian ancestry. His father was a senior partner at the corporate law firm Dewey Ballantine and was the Chairman of the management committee. Jassy grew up in Scarsdale and attended Scarsdale High School where he was a part of the soccer and tennis teams.
Andy went to Harvard University and graduated cum laude in government. He was also the advertising manager of The Harvard Crimson and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. In 1989, he wrote a piece in The Crimson about continuing ads from Eastern Airlines even though they were going through labor dispute problems.
Andy Jassy – Personal Life
In 1997, Andy married Elana Rochelle Caplan, at a Loews Hotel in Santa Monica, California. She is a fashion designer for Eddie Bauer and a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science. Their wedding was officiated by New York reform Rabbi James Brandt, Elana’s cousin.
Both Andy’s and Elana’s fathers were senior partners at Dewey Ballantine, and that is how they were introduced. Andy and Elana have two children and live in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. They purchased their 10,000 sqft house in 2009 for $3.1 million, and a 5500 sq ft house in Santa Monica for $6.7 million. Andy is also the Chairman of Rainier Prep, the charter school in Seattle.
Andy Jassy – Career Highlights
After completing his graduation and prior to starting his MBA program, Andy worked as a project manager for MBI for five years. Post this, he and an MBI colleague started a company, but sadly it closed down.
In 1997, Jassy joined Amazon as a marketing manager. In 2003, along with Jeff Bezos, they came up with the idea of creating a cloud computing platform that later became Amazon Web Services, when launched in 2006. It was headed by Jassy, with a team of 57 people.
In 2016, Jassy was named as the Person of the Year by the Financial Times, and a month later he was promoted from Senior VP to Chief Executive Officer of Amazon Web Services (AWS). He also earned over $36.6 million in that year itself.
Andy is a member of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), set up in 2018 and issued the final report in 2021. In January 2021, Bezos designated Jassy as his successor and the transition would happen in July 2021. After becoming the CEO of Amazon, Andy received a ten-year pay package of a total of $212.7 million. But the majority of his package is in stocks and investments for 10 years.
In 2024, Andy emphasized the company’s focus was to be on Artificial Intelligence. The company announced plans for 2025 with investments of up to $75 billion, with most of them directed towards AWS and generative AI.
As the CEO of Amazon, Andy has focused more on accelerating the brand’s digital transformation, investing in AI, and improving the overall customer experience.
Digital transformation:
He was one of the pioneers (along with Jeff Bezos) of cloud computing and transformed Amazon from a simple online bookstore into a global computing powerhouse.
He was the mastermind to lead Amazon through a shift in digital transformation.
Artificial Intelligence
Emphasized the focus of Amazon on Artificial Intelligence.
Pledged over $4 million to Anthropic.
Announced their plans to spend more than $75 billion in 2025 with most of its investments directed towards generative AI and AWS.
Customer Experience
Delivering at a faster rate to Prime members, with more than 7 billion products delivered on the same or the next day in 2023
Increased the total items delivered the same day or overnight by nearly 70% in 2023
As the CEO of Amazon, Andy emphasized the importance of learning, authenticity, and accountability in his leadership style. He also encourages leaders to challenge others and deliver on their commitments.
He is also an ardent follower of the Leadership Principles of Amazon, and it affects how he leads:
Ownership is the most important quality of leadership and does not only mean taking charge of your team and responsibilities.
‘You are Right, A Lot.’ but this does not mean that your idea will always be right. The key is to get the right people to offer feedback and think about the best answer for the customer or their business. It doesn’t matter whose idea it is, but what matters is getting a solution that works for everyone.
Andy believes in the concept of truth-seeking. Compromising with one another to make each other feel better does not help get the truth. At Amazon, all employees are empowered to speak up if they think something is going wrong.
Amazon believes that its leaders need to be strategic but must be able to Dive Deep to find the solution. Andy leads as per this style because he believes that leaders should not only be able to fill up whiteboards with ideas but to get into the details.
He also believes that Amazon employees need to keep learning and finding ways to improve themselves. They must be curious about any new avenues and possibilities and explore them.
