Amazon has initiated a round of layoffs affecting thousands of employees, with internal communications revealing details about the impacted teams and the company’s rationale. The cuts, which are part of a broader restructuring, are being driven by the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence and Amazon’s goal to operate more like the "world's largest startup," as CEO Andy Jassy has described. In a blog post, Amazon’s HR chief Beth Galetti announced the workforce reductions, stating that despite the company’s strong performance, the changes are necessary due to the transformative impact of AI on the global economy. She confirmed that affected employees would receive full pay and benefits for 90 days, along with a severance offer, in an effort to support them during the transition. The cuts are particularly focused on Amazon’s corporate and technology teams. Tapas Roy, vice president of device software and services, sent a message to his organization confirming that roles within the OS & Services team were being eliminated. He urged remaining employees to “lean in on AI,” signaling a strategic pivot toward AI-driven innovation. In Germany, employees received a security alert on their work devices indicating their access had been placed in “reduced functionality mode,” a status typically triggered when a role is being terminated or reassigned. According to an internal Slack message reviewed by Business Insider, this technical change was part of the layoff process. Amazon also notified the local works council about the job cuts, as required by German labor law, in a memo shared by Nils Gräf, Amazon’s director for Germany. The layoffs are expected to impact around 4% of Amazon’s approximately 350,000 corporate employees, translating to roughly 14,000 positions. With a global workforce of 1.55 million, the move represents one of the company’s largest restructuring efforts in recent years. Amazon has declined to provide further comment, directing reporters to Galetti’s original blog post. The company has not disclosed the full scope of the affected departments beyond the OS & Services team and corporate functions, but the emphasis on AI suggests a shift in focus toward automation, machine learning, and efficiency-driven operations. Employees across the organization have expressed concern over the pace and scale of the changes, particularly as Amazon continues to expand its AI initiatives through ventures like Amazon Bedrock and its growing investments in large language models. The layoffs underscore the broader trend in tech, where companies are reevaluating workforce needs amid rapid technological change.