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A logo for Amazon Web Services (AWS) is seen at the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
- Amazon joins other tech firms in cutting jobs
- AWS sales and operating income rose in first quarter
- Layoffs affect AWS specialists, other groups
SAN FRANCISCO, July 17 (Reuters) - Amazon
(AMZN.O), opens new tabcut at least hundreds of jobs in its Amazon Web Services cloud computing unit on Thursday, two sources said, just a month after CEO Andy Jassy warned that adoption of generative AI tools would trigger a workforce reduction.
An Amazon spokesperson confirmed it had cut jobs but did not provide a number.
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Amazon, which employed 1.6 million full- and part-time workers globally as of the end of March, has joined a growing list of firms, including Microsoft
(MSFT.O), opens new tab, Meta
(META.O), opens new tab, and CrowdStrike
(CRWD.O), opens new tabin announcing layoffs this year.
Many corporations are increasingly using artificial intelligence to write code for their software and adopting AI agents to automate routine tasks, as they look to save costs and cut reliance on people.
“We’ve made the difficult business decision to eliminate some roles across particular teams in AWS,” the Amazon spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “These decisions are necessary as we continue to invest, hire, and optimize resources to deliver innovation for our customers.”
AWS sales rose 17% in the first quarter to $29.3 billion compared to a year earlier and operating income rose 23% to $11.5 billion.
Several employees told Reuters they had received emails on Thursday morning that told them they had been terminated and their computers were being deactivated.
While Reuters could not determine the full scope of the layoffs, at least one group, known as “specialists,” was affected. Specialists work with customers to help create new product ideas and sell existing services.
Several groups within AWS were part of the layoffs, Amazon said.
Amazon has been making piecemeal job cuts, most recently in its books, devices and services unit, as well as its Wondery podcast division. Jassy is reducing what he has described as an excess of bureaucracy at the company, including by eliminating managers.
Reporting by Greg Bensinger in San Francisco and Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Franklin Paul and Rod Nickel
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Greg Bensinger joined Reuters as a technology correspondent in 2022 focusing on the world's largest technology companies. He was previously a member of The New York Times editorial board and a technology beat reporter for The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. He also worked for Bloomberg News writing about the auto and telecommunications industries. He studied English literature at The University of Virginia and graduate journalism at Columbia University. Greg lives in San Francisco with his wife and two children.
