Amazon has eliminated hundreds of positions in its retail operations, marking the latest round of workforce reductions across the company. The affected teams include customer service, seller support, and retail engineering, based on internal messages reviewed by media outlets. While the company confirmed fewer than 1,000 roles were removed, it did not specify the exact number.
These job cuts occur during Prime Big Deal Days, Amazon’s major fall shopping event this week. The company attributed the changes to structural adjustments aimed at improving efficiency and innovation in retail. “We’re always looking at our team structures to ensure we’re best set up to move fast as we innovate for customers,” an Amazon spokesperson said in an emailed statement Wednesday night. The company also noted that displaced employees would receive transition assistance. The statement continued, “As part of these changes, we’ve made the difficult decision to eliminate a small number of roles, and we’re committed to supporting affected employees through their transition.”
Internal communications indicated the layoffs impacted workers in the U.S., India, and the U.K., though Amazon has not yet filed required notices with Washington’s Employment Security Department. Washington mandates such filings when a company cuts 50 or more jobs.
Despite the reductions, Amazon’s retail sales remain robust, with online store revenue climbing to $70.4 billion in the second quarter, up 15% from the prior year. Third-party seller services grew 16%, reaching $46.8 billion and making up 58% of the company’s $200.6 billion total revenue for the period. The latest cuts follow Amazon’s largest-ever workforce reduction of 30,000 corporate jobs in late 2025 and early 2026, along with smaller reductions in robotics and AI research teams.
Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder, previously connected the layoffs to broader economic changes driven by AI. In a recent interview, he noted that the technology could decrease reliance on human labor, complicating hiring decisions. Bezos said the company was “in a very special position” after hiring so many people during the pandemic. “The whole team worked extremely hard and did so much, but we really grew our headcount.”