Leading e-commerce retailer Amazon is planning another round of layoffs that could be announced as early as this week.
Reuters previously reported that Amazon plans to eliminate approx. 30,000 white-collar jobs, accounting for about 10% The number of employees in its business. In October 2025, the tech giant laid off about 14,000 employeesciting workforce downsizing.
Amazon is reportedly set to announce a second, broader round of layoffs as early as Tuesday next week; the numbers are expected to be the same as in October: 14,000. This may affect employees in its Prime Video, human resources and Amazon Web Services departments.
If confirmed, the layoffs could exceed Amazon’s record layoffs in 2022, when the company laid off approximately 27,000 enterprise roles.
In October, Amazon faced backlash for cutting jobs amid the company’s growing reliance on artificial intelligence. However, CEO Andy Jassy The company clarified during its third-quarter earnings call that the layoffs were financially driven, not AI-driven.
Amazon has been steadily building its artificial intelligence business and expanding its scope with new deals. In October, Amazon announced that Amazon Robotics, founded in 2012, had deployed more than 1 million robots through its network.
Further exploring the idea of using artificial intelligence to build technology that increases employee productivity, making “the workday safer, easier, and more efficient while delivering packages to customers faster than ever before.”
Amazon also launched two new internal systems – Blue Jay and Eluna Project “Reducing physically demanding tasks, simplifying decision-making, and opening up new career opportunities for employees who drive Amazon forward.”
Details of the upcoming round of layoffs remain limited, and Amazon has yet to make a formal announcement.
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News of the layoffs comes a week before the company is scheduled to announce fourth-quarter earnings on February 5.
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The $2.56 trillion tech giant has gained 3.6% so far this year, but analysts are optimistic about its performance in 2026. Bank of America ranks Amazon as its top large-cap stock, citing expected profit growth and the potential for expansion through new AI deals, AWS growth and adoption of its in-house Trainium AI chips.
According to Bank of America, AWS leadership changes and other changes could “drive changes in AWS’s AI positioning and strong growth in Rufus usage, building the future of Agentic retail.”
It also noted growing adoption of its Trainium, and if it “improves relative to competitors, AWS’s AI positioning as a low-cost provider could become a meaningful advantage as enterprises focus on AI inference cost efficiency.”
In early 2025, Amazon forced employees to return to the office five days a week, a move that sparked widespread backlash online over accusations of being inconsiderate. With a new round of layoffs looming, forums like Reddit and Blind are once again abuzz with concerns about potential losses to 401(k)s and declining job security as artificial intelligence becomes more prevalent.
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This article was originally published by TheStreet on January 26, 2026, and first appeared in the Employment section. Click here to add TheStreet as your preferred source.