Amazon’s record-breaking layoffs, which affected more than 14,000 employees, have significantly impacted engineering roles across the company. Data from WARN filings in New York, California, New Jersey, and Washington reveal that nearly 40% of the 4,700 job cuts in those states were engineers, highlighting the disproportionate effect on technical talent. The layoffs, the largest in Amazon’s 31-year history, touched nearly every division, including cloud computing, retail, devices, advertising, grocery, and entertainment. Among the hardest-hit roles were mid-level software development engineers (SDE II), who were disproportionately affected. The shift reflects broader industry trends as AI-powered tools like coding assistants from Cursor, OpenAI, and Cognition — as well as Amazon’s own tool Kiro — reduce the need for traditional software development work. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has long pushed for a cultural transformation, aiming to make the company operate more like a startup by reducing bureaucracy and increasing agility. He attributed the layoffs to a “culture” issue stemming from years of rapid hiring that created organizational layers and slowed decision-making. The goal, according to Jassy, is to streamline operations and accelerate innovation. Human resources chief Beth Galetti emphasized that the company must innovate faster with fewer people. In her memo announcing the cuts, she called AI “the most transformative technology since the Internet,” and said the restructuring would allow Amazon to move more swiftly for customers. While Amazon stated that AI is not the primary driver behind most of the job reductions, it is investing heavily in AI to improve efficiency and reshape its workforce. Jassy has predicted that AI will lead to a shrinking corporate headcount over time. Beyond engineering, the layoffs impacted over 500 product and program managers—more than 10% of the total cuts—and senior and principal roles across multiple levels. Amazon also scaled back on experimental and unprofitable ventures, shutting down initiatives like a telehealth service, a kids’ video-calling device, a fitness wearable, and several physical retail stores. The company’s gaming division faced major cuts as well. Steve Boom, VP of Audio, Twitch, and Games, confirmed “significant role reductions” in Amazon’s San Diego and Irvine studios, along with its central publishing team. Game designers, artists, and producers made up over a quarter of the layoffs in Irvine and about 11% in San Diego. Amazon also paused development on big-budget, or AAA, games, including an MMO based on The Lord of the Rings, and has scaled back on other high-profile projects like Crucible and New World. Other affected areas include Amazon’s visual search and shopping teams, which develop tools like Amazon Lens and Lens Live. These teams, based in Palo Alto, saw heavy cuts to software engineers, applied scientists, and quality assurance staff. The company also reduced its ad sales and marketing workforce in New York by over 140 roles—about 20% of the total in that location—despite advertising being one of its most profitable units. Amazon is expected to continue its cost-cutting efforts into January, as it reorganizes to meet the demands of a fast-evolving tech landscape.