Amazon has announced plans to lay off several thousand employees, a move that may initially appear substantial in scale. Yet, when placed in the broader context of the company’s vast global operations, it represents only a minimal reduction in its colossal labor force. Specifically, the elimination of approximately 14,000 corporate positions accounts for less than one percent—roughly 0.9%—of its nearly 1.6 million workers as recorded at the conclusion of the previous fiscal year. In other words, despite the noteworthy headlines surrounding these job cuts, the overwhelming majority of Amazon’s employees remain in their roles, maintaining the company’s position as one of the largest private employers in the world.
This development occurs against the backdrop of Amazon’s extraordinary workforce expansion over the past several years. During 2020, amidst the turbulence of the global pandemic, surging online demand spurred the company to grow its roster dramatically, surpassing one million full-time and part-time workers. By the following year, that figure had soared to roughly 1.6 million, coinciding with a period of widespread labor turnover across the United States as the economy reopened and businesses sought to rehire in the wake of pandemic-induced disruptions. Viewed over an extended timeline, Amazon has nearly tripled its total workforce between 2017 and 2024, reflecting both its rapid operational scale-up and its central role in the digital economy.
In a message circulated internally, Beth Galetti—Amazon’s senior vice president responsible for people experience and technology—framed the layoffs as part of a broader initiative to refine the company’s structure. She explained that these reductions are intended to fortify Amazon’s long-term competitiveness by eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy, streamlining managerial layers, and strategically reallocating resources toward areas with the greatest potential impact. According to her statement, the purpose of this recalibration is to ensure continued investment in Amazon’s most promising ventures and to sustain a relentless focus on addressing both the current and evolving needs of its customers.
Amazon is not alone in making such workforce adjustments. Across multiple industries, prominent companies are executing similar measures in response to shifting economic conditions. For example, the logistics giant UPS reported in its third-quarter earnings that it had already reduced thousands of positions during the first nine months of the year. This parallel trend underscores a broader correction unfolding within major corporations that had previously undergone rapid hiring during the pandemic recovery.
Economic analysts have offered varying interpretations of these developments. Ernie Tedeschi, a nonresident senior fellow at The Budget Lab at Yale, told *Business Insider* that artificial intelligence may plausibly be contributing to the current wave of layoffs. However, he emphasized that the more significant factor is likely the unprecedented hiring surge of recent years. Tedeschi described the present downsizing as a normalization—a correction of sorts—following the extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic era, rather than evidence of a sudden transformational influence stemming from new technologies like AI. In his view, this is less an emergence of a novel phenomenon and more an adjustment to the hiring exuberance that took place as economies reopened.
The conditions that gave rise to this cycle can be traced back to the period known as the Great Resignation, which coincided with an exceptionally tight labor market following the large-scale reopening after COVID-19 restrictions. During that time, many workers felt newly empowered to seek out better pay, improved working conditions, and greater flexibility, leading to unusually high levels of job-switching. In response, companies across sectors intensified their recruitment efforts, expanding teams and creating additional positions to secure talent amid fierce competition.
Tedeschi further observed that while corporations initially sustained these enlarged teams, the persistence of economic uncertainty has made such levels increasingly difficult to justify. As growth slows and cost pressures intensify, many executives are feeling compelled to optimize expenditures, which often translates into workforce reductions. He characterized the current stage as the moment when “the other shoe drops”—a phase when businesses must realign their staffing to match a more measured and sustainable pace of demand.
Claudia Sahm, chief economist at New Century Advisors, provided an additional layer of context by describing today’s U.S. job market as one that is simultaneously restrained in both hiring and firing. She contrasted this with the frenzied environment of just a few years ago, when companies were filling positions rapidly and employee turnover reached historical highs. According to Sahm, the nation has undergone a profound transformation in labor market dynamics within a remarkably short span, shifting from a high-velocity environment characterized by constant movement to a more cautious equilibrium where both employers and employees are acting with increased deliberation.
Despite the layoffs, many affected Amazon employees may yet find opportunities within the corporation itself. In her internal communication, Galetti indicated that the company intends to provide most of those impacted with a 90-day window to explore alternate roles internally. This approach suggests that while Amazon’s leadership is intent on improving operational efficiency, it also recognizes the value of retaining institutional knowledge and talent that could be redeployed in other capacities. The overall picture, therefore, is one not of contraction but of recalibration—a large organization reshaping itself after a period of extraordinary growth, aligning its human resources with strategic priorities, and preparing for the next phase of economic and technological change.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/layoffs-one-chart-amazon-hiring-pandemic-great-resignation-2025-10
