Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says 14,000 job cuts not driven by AI, but by cultural reset

152

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has stated that the company’s ongoing round of 14,000 job cuts is a strategic step toward improving organizational agility and cultural alignment, rather than a direct result of artificial intelligence replacing human roles.

Speaking about the restructuring, Jassy said the layoffs are part of a “larger cultural fix” aimed at reviving Amazon’s customer-obsessed, lean, and innovative ethos. He emphasised that while AI and automation continue to improve productivity, they are not displacing employees at scale. Instead, the focus is on “eliminating redundancy and bureaucracy” created during years of rapid expansion.

The layoffs affect teams across retail, AWS, and operations, with Jassy assuring that Amazon remains committed to reskilling workers in AI, cloud, and data-related roles.

This clarification comes amid growing global debate over AI’s impact on employment, especially after several tech giants linked job cuts to AI-driven restructuring. Jassy maintained that Amazon is using AI “as a tool, not a replacement,” and that efficiency gains will be reinvested into innovation and customer experience.

Industry observers see this as a signal that Amazon’s leadership is prioritising cultural renewal and long-term discipline over short-term cost cutting — a move intended to stabilise morale and investor confidence alike.