Amazon cuts 16,000 jobs globally to undo pandemic-era hiring amid AI push

Jan 28 (Reuters) - Amazon said connected Wednesday it was cutting 16,000 jobs worldwide successful the 2nd large circular of layoffs astatine the institution successful 3 months, ​as it restructures aft pandemic-era over-hiring and expands the adoption of artificial quality tools.

Reuters ‌first reported past week that Amazon was readying a 2nd circular of occupation cuts arsenic portion of a broader ‌goal of trimming astir 30,000 firm roles, with the layoffs expected to impact workers successful Amazon Web Services, retail, Prime Video and quality resources departments.

Amazon slashed 14,000 white-collar jobs successful precocious October, with CEO Andy Jassy stressing the request for the institution to destruct excessive bureaucracy by trimming ⁠operational levels and reducing the fig ‌of managers.

"Some of you mightiness inquire if this is the opening of a caller bushed – wherever we denote wide reductions each fewer months. That's ‍not our plan," said Beth Galetti, elder vice president of radical acquisition and exertion astatine Amazon.

RISING AI ADOPTION

The occupation cuts besides underscore however artificial quality is changing firm workforce dynamics. Significant improvements successful AI assistants ​are helping enterprises execute duties from regular administrative tasks to analyzable coding problems with ‌rapid velocity and precision, driving wide adoption.

Jassy had said past summertime that the accrued usage of AI tools would pb to much automation of duties, resulting successful firm occupation losses.

Earlier this month, apical executives astatine the World Economic Forum's yearly gathering said portion jobs would disappear, caller ones would outpouring up, with 2 of them telling Reuters that AI would beryllium utilized arsenic ⁠an excuse by companies readying to chopped jobs anyway.

The ​30,000 jobs would unneurotic correspond a tiny information of ​Amazon's 1.58 cardinal employees, but astir 10% of its firm workforce. The bulk of Amazon's workers are successful fulfillment centers and warehouses.

Tech giants, including Amazon, ‍Facebook-parent Meta Platforms and ⁠Microsoft, had sharply ramped up hiring during the COVID-19 pandemic request surge and person lately been restructuring their workforce.

Amazon has besides been investing successful robotics astatine its warehouses to ⁠speed up packaging and deliveries for its e-commerce segment, trim the reliance connected quality labour and cutting costs.

The ‌company is acceptable to study quarterly results adjacent week.

(Reporting by Deborah Sophia and ‌Zaheer Kachwala successful Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)