Mar 18, 2025 11:45:00

Amazon plans to lay off 14,000 managers, expected to save $5 billion a year

It has been revealed that Amazon plans to lay off nearly 14,000 employees, or about 13% of its management staff, in the first quarter of 2025. A Morgan Stanley analysis estimates that this could result in a maximum annual cost savings of nearly 540 billion yen.

Amazon plans to lay off 14,000 managerial positions to save $3.5 billion annually - Tech Startups

https://techstartups.com/2025/03/17/amazon-to-lay-off-14000-managerial-positions-to-save-3-5-billion-annually/

Amazon has significantly increased its employee base during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the number of employees swelling from 798,000 at the end of 2019 to more than 1.6 million at the end of 2021. Andy Jassy, who replaced founder Jeff Bezos as CEO in 2021, has been streamlining operations and restructuring his team, laying off more than 27,000 people in 2022 and 2023, as well as reducing staffing in the communications and sustainability departments from 2024 to 2025.

The company is also reviewing unprofitable projects, discontinuing programs such as try-before-you-buy clothing and rapid in-store delivery services.

Amazon ends program that lets Prime members try on clothes before they buy them - GIGAZINE

In February 2025, CEO Jassy announced a plan to 'increase the ratio of managers to general employees by 15%,' saying that 'reducing the number of management layers will streamline operations and allow Amazon to make faster decisions without being trapped by bureaucracy.' Morgan Stanley's analysis estimates that approximately 13,834 managers would be laid off, saving between 313.8 billion yen and 538 billion yen.

As part of the plan, Amazon is also setting up a 'bureaucracy reporting line' to encourage employees to report inefficient procedures that slow down work. To support the transition to a leaner operating model, Amazon is instructing managers to 'increase the number of direct reports,' 'limit senior management hiring,' and 'revise pay structures.'

Amazon has decided to end remote work in 2024 and require employees to come to the office, so some employees have chosen to quit.

Amazon changes policy to '5 days a week in the office' - GIGAZINE

The trend of job cuts continues across the IT industry, and Layoffs.FYI , a website that tracks job cuts in the IT industry, reports that 81 IT companies have already cut 22,692 jobs so far this year.