Amazon has announced the elimination of 16,000 roles, marking its second major round of layoffs since October, when the company cut 14,000 corporate positions. The latest workforce reductions were disclosed on Wednesday by Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, in a memo posted on the company’s blog. Galetti described the move as part of an ongoing effort to streamline Amazon’s organizational structure by reducing layers, increasing accountability, and cutting bureaucracy. “As I shared in October, we've been working to strengthen our organization by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy,” she wrote. “While many teams finalized their organizational changes in October, other teams did not complete that work until now.” The company will offer most U.S.-based employees affected by the cuts a 90-day window to seek internal roles. Those who do not find a new position or choose not to transition internally will receive severance pay and continued health insurance benefits, Galetti said. The layoffs come amid Amazon’s broader restructuring as it seeks to operate more efficiently in the face of rapid advancements in artificial intelligence. Although the initial October cuts were initially framed as part of an AI-driven transformation, CEO Andy Jassy later clarified that the reductions were more about cultural alignment and organizational fit than automation or cost-cutting. Some employees received early calendar invitations for the job cuts, raising concerns about timing and communication. The announcement follows Amazon’s recent decision to shut down its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores, a move attributed to the inability to deliver a truly distinctive customer experience with a sustainable economic model. Amazon employs over 1.5 million people worldwide, with its corporate workforce accounting for about 350,000 of those. In recent years, the company has taken steps to reduce management layers, tighten spending, overhaul performance reviews, and require most corporate employees to return to the office five days a week. Galetti acknowledged the cumulative impact of the cuts but emphasized that the company does not plan to announce large-scale reductions on a regular cycle. “Some of you might ask if this is the beginning of a new rhythm — where we announce broad reductions every few months,” she wrote. “That's not our plan. But just as we always have, every team will continue to evaluate the ownership, speed, and capacity to invent for customers, and make adjustments as appropriate.” The cultural shift began to accelerate after the pandemic, when Amazon’s rapid growth slowed. Executives have since worked to rein in costs by closing unprofitable projects and reducing what they described as a bloated workforce. Last year, Jassy stated that AI-driven efficiency gains would eventually lead to a reduction in headcount. Amazon’s actions reflect a broader trend across Big Tech, where companies are cutting jobs while investing heavily in AI. Microsoft previously announced plans to eliminate about 15,000 positions, with CEO Satya Nadella citing the need to focus on AI transformation. Meta has also made AI-driven workforce adjustments, replacing certain roles in its risk division with automated systems.