Amazon cuts 14,000 jobs to flatten hierarchy, not save costs

Amazon cuts 14,000 jobs to flatten hierarchy, not save costs Amazon's recent workforce reduction of approximately 14,000 employees globally is primarily aimed at streamlining organizational structure rather than cutting costs or replacing workers with artificial intelligence, according to Amit Agarwal , the company's senior vice president for emerging markets. Speaking in an interview with the Economic Times this week, Agarwal emphasized that the restructuring aligns with CEO Andy Jassy's vision to operate the tech giant as the "world's largest startup." "The workforce reductions are primarily about removing those layers, and we'll continue to do that because we want to stay lean and move like a startup," Agarwal told ET. The layoffs, announced in October 2025, represent Amazon's largest corporate job cuts to date and impacted between 800 and 1,000 roles in India across finance, marketing, human resources, and technology departments. Startup Culture Over Cost-Cutting The restructuring effort reflects Jassy's multi-year initiative to flatten Amazon's corporate hierarchy and eliminate bureaucratic layers that accumulated during years of rapid expansion. During an earnings call in October, Jassy clarified that the decision was "not really financially driven, and it's not even really AI-driven, not right now at least," but rather about company culture. "When that happens, sometimes without realizing it, you can weaken the ownership of the people that are doing the actual work," Jassy explained. Beth Galetti , Amazon's senior vice president of people experience and technology, announced the organizational changes in late October, stating the company needs to be "organized more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership, to move as quickly as possible for our customers and business". Despite the reductions, Amazon indicated it would continue hiring in strategic areas, with additional layoffs expected in 2026. India Investment Continues The layoffs come as Amazon announced a $35 billion investment commitment for India by 2030, unveiled at the company's Smbhav Summit in New Delhi on December 10. This builds on $40 billion already invested in the country since 2010. Agarwal noted that Amazon's quick commerce expansion strategy centers on Prime membership clusters rather than specific city targets, stating, "Our expansion isn't tied to a fixed city count. It's centred on Prime-dense clusters". The company aims to support 3.8 million jobs in India and quadruple cumulative e-commerce exports to $80 billion by 2030.

Amazon cuts 14,000 jobs to flatten hierarchy, not save costs

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Amazon cuts 14,000 jobs to flatten hierarchy, not save costs

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