Seattle: US tech and e-commerce giant Amazon announced Tuesday that it plans to lay off about 14,000 corporate jobs, signifying the most recent reductions in the firm’s multi-year cost-cutting initiative. Amazon stated in a blog post that the layoffs are being implemented in an effort to reduce bureaucracy and make the company leaner while it looks to invest in “our biggest bets,” which include generative artificial intelligence (AI).

According to Anadolu Agency, the layoffs are ultimately expected to be Amazon’s largest corporate job cuts in its history. With almost 1.54 million employees worldwide as of the end of the second quarter, Amazon is the second-largest private employer in the US. The majority of that number consists of its warehouse employees. With over 350,000 corporate and IT workers, the 14,000 layoffs account for nearly 4% of the company’s workforce. The firm stated that although it intends to continue hiring in “key strategic areas,” it will continue to lay off workers in the upcoming year.

Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience and technology at Amazon, emphasized the transformative impact of AI, describing it as the most significant technological advancement since the Internet. She noted that AI is enabling companies to innovate faster and said Amazon needs to be organized more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership, to move quickly for their customers and business.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, who succeeded Jeff Bezos in 2021, has been focused on reducing expenses across the organization. In June, Jassy mentioned that as a result of adopting generative AI, the company’s employment would continue to decline, requiring fewer people in certain roles while increasing demand for other types of jobs. Over the past three years, Amazon has laid off 27,000 workers between 2022 and 2023, and the latest announcement is part of ongoing efforts to streamline operations.