Amazon has cut nearly 1,000 white-collar jobs, mainly in its Stores division, as the e-commerce giant continues to restructure its workforce and increase spending on artificial intelligence. 

Employees in the US, India and the UK have been affected, with the latest layoffs coming during Amazon’s major Prime Big Deal Days shopping event.

The latest reductions affect fewer than 1,000 employees and cover several functions within Amazon’s retail operations, including customer service, marketplace support and engineering. Amazon said it had adjusted parts of its Stores business to better align its organisational structure with its current priorities.

The job cuts are part of a broader restructuring that has been underway since last year. Amazon previously eliminated around 30,000 positions through a series of reductions that continued into January. Founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos has attributed part of the workforce reduction to overhiring during the pandemic, when the company expanded rapidly to meet a surge in online shopping demand.

At the same time, Amazon is significantly increasing its investment in AI infrastructure. The company is preparing to spend around $220 billion this year on data centres, chips and other infrastructure, with most of the investment expected to support artificial intelligence workloads through its AWS cloud business.

The workforce changes highlight how Amazon is shifting resources towards areas it expects to drive future growth. The company has also been approaching some former employees about openings in AI, machine learning and cloud computing, indicating that the restructuring is not simply about reducing headcount but also about changing the mix of skills within its workforce.

The impact is also being felt in India. Reports suggest that at least 100 Amazon employees in India have been affected, particularly across retail and customer service functions. The layoffs came shortly after the launch of Amazon’s Great Indian Festival sale in the country.

Amazon’s latest move reflects a wider trend across the technology industry, where companies are reducing roles in some traditional functions while directing more capital and talent towards AI. 

The shift could continue to reshape corporate workforces as businesses prioritise automation, cloud computing and AI-led products.

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