Amazon layoffs 2025: tens of thousands of corporate job cuts, UPS’s 48,000 reductions, and what it means for jobs, severance, and AMZN

Amazon is executing one of the largest corporate workforce trims of the year, notifying employees this week of major layoffs in 2025 that begin immediately and could ultimately reach well into the tens of thousands. Internal messages to staff put the initial wave near 14,000 corporate roles across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, while briefings to investors and reporters suggest the figure could scale as high as 30,000 as the reorganization unfolds. Shares of AMZN ticked higher on cost-cut expectations as management framed the move around streamlining, removing bureaucracy, and accelerating the use of AI across the business.

Amazon layoffs 2025: scope, teams, and timing

• Who’s affected: Corporate functions including HR, select Devices/Services groups, and parts of retail and operations support. Warehouse and delivery staffing are not the primary target of this round, though individual markets may see adjustments.

• Where: Notifications are rolling out across North America and Europe, with some country timelines subject to local labor-law processes.

• When: Termination dates are staggered. Many employees enter a paid transition period (about 90 days) to pursue internal roles; others receive immediate separation packages.

Leadership’s message couples the cuts with a pivot toward AI-driven workflows, network efficiency, and faster decision-making. The company has previously trimmed headcount in 2022–2023; this year’s action is positioned as the next phase of restructuring for a post-boom environment.

Severance, pay, and benefits: what laid-off Amazon employees are seeing

While packages vary by country and tenure, company communications to staff outline three pillars:

1. Paid transition window: Roughly 90 days of full pay and benefits for many corporate employees placed in a job-search period.

2. Severance offer: Cash severance after the transition if no internal placement is found, typically scaled by years of service.

3. Support: Continuation of health benefits for a limited period where applicable, plus placement resources and immigration counsel where needed.

Employees on visas are being routed to internal mobility teams, with explicit guidance on timelines to secure a qualifying role or accept severance.

UPS layoffs add to the drumbeat

Separately, UPS disclosed it has cut about 48,000 jobs year-to-date through a mix of layoffs and voluntary programs, part of a sweeping turnaround emphasizing automation, facility consolidation, and tighter network design. Management highlighted multi-billion-dollar cost savings and indicated further footprint optimization into 2026. For logistics hubs and contractor ecosystems, the near-term effects include leaner holiday hiring, shifting shift structures, and accelerated adoption of tech that reduces manual touchpoints.

Why now: AI, margin discipline, and slower hiring collide

Three forces are converging across large employers:

• Automation and AI adoption: Companies are reorganizing around software-first operations, which compresses layers of management and some support roles.

• Profit and cash priorities: After years of capacity build-out, boards are rewarding margin expansion and lower opex, especially ahead of heavy capital cycles in cloud and data centers.

• A cooler labor backdrop: Hiring has slowed, and many firms describe a “low-hiring, selective-firing” stance—fewer backfills, more role consolidations, and periodic headline cuts.

Cloud wobble watch: outage chatter and business continuity

On Wednesday, public outage dashboards showed spikes in user complaints tied to major cloud platforms, including services used by both Amazon and Microsoft customers. While impact varied by region and product, the episode was a reminder that enterprises leaning harder on cloud and AI must plan for redundancy, graceful degradation, and offline failovers. For employees in affected orgs, temporary slowdowns can complicate rollouts and internal migrations already under way amid staffing changes.

What this means for AMZN, jobs, and applicants

• For current employees: If you received a notice, use the transition window—apply broadly to internal roles, document achievements, and secure manager-level references quickly. If you’re on a visa, ask for written timelines and explore portability options.

• For applicants: Hiring is not frozen across the board. Revenue-adjacent roles (advertising tech, third-party marketplace, cloud sales/solutions, safety/regulatory) and AI/ML jobs remain comparatively resilient.

• For investors tracking AMZN: The near-term thesis centers on opex discipline and AI leverage across retail, ads, and cloud. Watch for commentary on how headcount actions flow into operating margin and whether guidance bakes in any severance expense bulge.

Quick FAQ: Amazon layoffs 2025

How many Amazon employees are being laid off?
Initial notices cover about 14,000 corporate roles, with total reductions widely flagged as potentially up to 30,000 as restructuring proceeds.

Which teams are hit the hardest?
Corporate functions such as HR, portions of Devices/Services, and select retail/operations support groups.

What severance is Amazon offering?
Common elements include around 90 days of full pay and benefits, then severance if no internal placement occurs—details vary by region and tenure.

Are UPS layoffs related?
Not directly, but they reflect the same macro: automation, cost discipline, and slower volumes. UPS reports 48,000 cuts so far this year.

Is this permanent?
Headcount resets are structural, but companies can and do rehire into growth areas. The mix shifts toward AI-enabled, customer-impact roles.