amazon Shifts Focus, Cuts Hundreds of Engineering & Management Roles Amid AI Investment
SEATTLE, WA – Amazon is undergoing significant restructuring, resulting in widespread layoffs impacting engineering, management, and various divisions across the company. The cuts,revealed through WARN notices and internal documentation,signal a strategic pivot towards artificial intelligence and a streamlining of operations,leading to a reduced need for certain engineering roles.
The layoffs have already impacted over 500 product and program managers, representing over 10% of the total workforce reductions announced by the company. Senior managers and managers were also included in the cuts. These reductions are occurring alongside a broader pullback from experimental and less profitable ventures, including the recent shuttering of its telemedicine service, a children’s video calling device, a fitness tracker, and several physical retail chains.
The video game division has been especially hard hit. Studios in san Diego and Irvine experienced “significant reductions in roles,” according to Vice President Steve Boom. in Irvine, game designers, artists, and producers accounted for over 25% of the cuts, while San Diego saw approximately 11% of its workforce reduced. Amazon has also halted development on most of its “triple A” games, including a large-scale MMO and a project based on The Lord of the Rings.
Further cuts targeted teams focused on visual search and shopping, specifically those responsible for Amazon lens and Lens Live – products launched only months ago. WARN notices indicate that computer engineers, applied scientists, and quality control specialists in the Bay Area were disproportionately affected.
Even Amazon’s advertising division, one of its most profitable sectors, wasn’t spared. Over 140 sales and marketing positions were eliminated in New York, representing 20% of the 760 roles cut at that location.
These workforce reductions are occurring in tandem with massive investments in artificial intelligence. The company’s strategic shift raises questions about the future of innovation within Amazon and the evolving role of highly skilled workers as software development and creative processes become increasingly integrated with AI technologies. It remains to be seen how this transformation will ultimately impact Amazon’s long-term growth and competitive position.
