Amazon announced it will cut 16,000 corporate jobs, marking the second major reduction in less than six months as the company restructures after pandemic-era hiring surges.

Executive Beth Galetti said the layoffs aim to reduce bureaucracy, increase ownership, and streamline management layers, while stressing that large, recurring cuts are not planned.

The move follows October 2025 layoffs of 14,000 employees and comes amid CEO Andy Jassy’s push to make Amazon “operate like the world’s largest startup.”

The cuts coincide with plans to close Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores to focus on delivery and expand Whole Foods locations, Yahoo Finance has reported.

As of September, Amazon had around 350,000 corporate employees and will report its Q4 earnings on February 5.