The latest round, which is the biggest shake-up in the company’s history, cuts into Amazon’s white-collar ranks.

While the company still employs more than 1.5 million people worldwide, mostly in warehouses and delivery operations, this development strips away close to one in ten corporate roles. It also leaves the door open to further reductions in subsequent months.

Management says the decision is about speed and proper management. In a message to staff, Amazon’s chief people officer, Beth Galetti, said the company was acting to strengthen itself by “reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy”.

She added that some teams would continue to “make adjustments as appropriate”, a line that has done little to calm nerves internally.

Under chief executive Andy Jassy, Amazon has been walking away from businesses that failed to justify years of investment. Just days before the layoffs were confirmed, the company said it would shut its remaining Amazon Fresh grocery shops and Amazon Go convenience stores, and abandon its Amazon One palm-scan payment system.

All three had been pitched as bold bets on the future of retail. None delivered at scale.

The cuts span much of the company. Staff in Amazon Web Services, Alexa, Prime Video, devices, advertising and last-mile delivery have reported being affected.

An internal email, sent in error to some employees, appeared to label the restructuring “Project Dawn”, a phrase that quickly spread across internal chats and unsettled thousands of workers, particularly within AWS. Amazon declined to explain the reference.

This is the second major round of layoffs in just three months. In October, Amazon said it would eliminate 14,000 corporate jobs, noting over-hiring during the pandemic and a need to adapt to rapid changes in how work gets done.

“As we roll out more Generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done. We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs,” Jassy wrote to staff last summer.

Amazon says this does not mean a new cycle of constant job cuts, both corporate and other jobs. Galetti addressed that concern, saying: “Some of you might ask if this is the beginning of a new rhythm – where we announce broad reductions every few months. That’s not our plan.”

Still, she confirmed Amazon would continue to review teams and reshape them where needed.

Beyond Seattle, the impact is being felt globally. Employees in India are expected to be hit harder in this phase, particularly in AWS and Prime Video, according to people familiar with the matter.

That shows a big transition, as Amazon concentrates resources on fewer, more profitable lines while pushing automation more into its operations. The company has already invested heavily in robotics across its warehouses to cut expenses and speed up deliveries.

Amazon is not alone. Across Big Tech, the post-pandemic hiring spree is being unwound. Meta, Microsoft and Google have all trimmed staff as they redirect cash and talent towards advanced computing and automation.

Outside tech, UPS, Pinterest and ASML have also announced layoffs in recent days. At the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, executives acknowledged that while new jobs will emerge, automation is already changing who companies need, and how many.

For investors, the market reaction was muted. Amazon shares edged up slightly in pre-market trading ahead of the company’s quarterly results next week.

For employees, many affected workers will be given time to apply for internal roles, while those who leave will receive severance and benefits.

Every industry was impacted in some way, but Big Tech, in particular, caught the global limelight after hiring en masse — responding to the public’s new reliance on technology when working from home — and subsequently laying off excess workers in huge swathes when the bubble burst.

But the world of tech extends far beyond U.S.-based giants like Amazon, Meta and Apple.

This got us thinking: from the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 to 2024, which tech companies around the world have been responsible for the biggest layoff events in terms of the number of employees who lost their jobs?

Using a database that tracks layoffs in tech, BusinessFinancing.co.uk went to find out.

Key Findings

• Google’s January 2023 layoff of 12,000 employees was the biggest in tech since
• When considering the number of employees laid off, six of the biggest layoff events in tech since 2020 were made by American companies.
• Swedish company Ericsson saw the biggest layoff event of any European tech company when it laid off 8,500 employees in February 2023.
• In the UK, Getir made the biggest layoff in August 2023 when it laid off 2,500 workers.

10 Biggest African Tech Company Layoffs Since 2020

The pandemic, coupled with a more cautious economic climate, triggered a wave of layoffs across the tech sector around the world.

In Africa, businesses have faced substantial layoffs since 2020, with Nigerian eCommerce platforms like Jumia and Alerzo, together, laying off up to 1,300 employees, and a large wave of Nigerian startups laying off staff as well.

Biggest Tech Layoffs in South America:

Biggest Tech Layoffs in Europe:

Biggest Tech Layoffs in the Rest of Asia and Oceania:

Biggest Tech Layoffs in Each Country: