Amazon laid off 660 corporate employees in Manhattan, primarily at two offices. This follows plans to cut 14,000 jobs amid growing use of AI in various sectors. Further reductions could reportedly total 30,000, affecting various departments.
E-commerce giant Amazon cut 660 jobs in Manhattan in October, according to a report by the New York Post citing New York State government records.
Amazon confirmed that nine office locations were affected, impacting only corporate employees. The most affected sites were two locations. The 450 W 33rd St offices near Hudson Yards experienced 233 layoffs, and the 424 Fifth Ave. offices at the former Lord & Taylor flagship, acquired by Amazon in 2020 for $1 billion, had 182 layoffs, the report said, citing Monday filings from the state Department of Labour.
“I believe the vast majority of these cuts are tech layoffs for Amazon, and NYC was not spared,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives told The Post. “The size of the Amazon cuts remains a head scratcher given the battle for talent and the AI revolution in motion.”
Amazon layoffs
The latest development after Amazon confirmed plans to cut nearly 14,000 corporate jobs, just months after Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy highlighted growing use of AI.
During Amazon's earnings call on Thursday, Andy Jassy clarified that the layoffs were not due to cost-cutting measures or the adoption of AI. Instead, he said that the employees affected did not align with Amazon's culture.
“The announcement that we made a few days ago was not really financially driven, and it's not even really AI-driven, not right now at least,” Andy Jassy said, adding that “it really — it's culture.”
The layoffs are impacting various departments, including logistics, payments, video games, and cloud computing, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
“The reductions we’re sharing today are a continuation of this work to get even stronger by further reducing bureaucracy, removing layers, and shifting resources to ensure we’re investing in our biggest bets,” Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience and technology at Amazon, said in a blog post last month.
More layoffs ahead
Galetti hinted at further job cuts, mentioning Amazon's plan to hire in key areas in 2026.
The company reportedly plans to cut approximately 30,000 corporate jobs in the latest round of layoffs, which will constitute about 9% of its global office-based workforce, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the development.
Indicating the reason for job cuts, she said, “Some may ask why we’re reducing roles when the company is performing well. What we need to remember is that the world is changing quickly. This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet, and it's enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before.”