14,000 layoffs as Amazon bets on AI
With 14,000 layoffs
Amazon just joined the list of companies making massive cuts to their teams and announced the elimination of about 14,000 corporate roles at the end of October 2025. That number landed after days of rumors and leaks pointing to a possible adjustment of up to 30,000 positions, although the company stuck to the 14,000 figure as the confirmed round. The stated goal is to gain agility, simplify layers, and redirect resources toward strategic bets like artificial intelligence, without framing it as a plain cost-cutting move.
To put it in perspective, Amazon had already made a big reduction between late 2022 and 2023 that totaled 27,000 jobs, and in 2024 there were targeted cuts at Twitch, Prime Video, and MGM Studios. Taken together, the post-pandemic stretch looks like a rebalancing after the over-hiring of the e-commerce boom. Let’s remember how coding bootcamps exploded because demand was through the roof. It felt like a golden moment for programming, as if everyone could land a well-paid role. Reality check: with the rise of AI, only the developers who adapt to new trends will find stability. In this new phase, the company is trimming administrative layers and doubling down on technology, data, and experiences that hit the customer directly.
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The official line blends two ideas. First, a leaner and faster Amazon with less internal friction to decide and execute. Second, a firm push to use AI as a lever across every line of business, from advertising to logistics, with AWS and entertainment in the mix. Amazon’s own site framed the move as a reorganization meant to keep the company strong and flexible. People close to leadership in Seattle have also stressed this is not cutting for the sake of it, but a reset of culture and ways of working for a tech cycle that is moving at full speed.
So what’s next? In the short term, expect stricter hiring and very selective openings in applied AI, data engineering, security, and product. In the medium term, the real impact hinges on two variables. One is whether automation and generative models truly lift the productivity of smaller teams. The other is whether growth in AWS and advertising sustains the margin needed to keep investing in compute capacity, chips, and developer platforms. During this transition, two forces will likely live side by side. Fewer people in transversal functions, and more investment in hybrid talent that can translate business goals into data-driven solutions and models.
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Our take at Square Codex is optimistic. Amazon is not turning its back on talent, it is changing the mix of skills it prioritizes. For professionals who are affected, the play is to show measurable product impact, strong data chops, and real customer understanding. For those watching from the outside, the market signal is loud and clear. AI is no longer a side project, it is part of the production line. If the company delivers on its promise to focus on strategic areas, we will likely see a selective reopening of hiring from 2026, with a tilt toward profiles that blend engineering, analytics, and business judgment. Recent tech history points to a cycle of contraction, retraining, and renewed expansion, and Amazon looks ready to lead that path with a simpler structure and bigger technological ambition.
One more thing to note. For companies that need to move faster without bloating their fixed structure, staff augmentation from Latin America is a pragmatic option. Senior teams in the same time zone, with solid English and experience in key industries, plug into client rituals and add value from week one. At Square Codex we work with developers, QA, and designers from Costa Rica and the region to expand product capacity without friction. We are not trying to compete with AI, we use it as a resource to guarantee project effectiveness, from code copilots and automated testing to analytics that prioritizes the backlog. The result is speed with control and proper governance.
