Software developers hit hard in Amazon’s mass layoffs announced last month

New state regulatory filings have revealed that engineering roles bore the brunt of Amazon's deepest-ever round of corporate layoffs, with more than 1,800 engineers eliminated in the most recent cuts. The data underscores a major strategic shift as the e-commerce giant aims to become leaner, streamline bureaucracy, and aggressively invest in artificial intelligence (AI).

The figures, compiled from Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filings in key states including Washington, California, New York, and New Jersey, show that nearly 40% of the approximately 4,700 corporate job cuts reported in those states were engineering positions.

A deeper dive

While Amazon announced total corporate reductions of over 14,000 roles in October, the WARN filings offer a granular look at where the axe fell:

The most affected group was Software Development Engineers (SDEs), particularly those in mid-level (SDE II) roles. Analysts suggest these are the roles most immediately impacted by the productivity gains enabled by new AI coding assistants and automation platforms.

Other areas hit hard include experimental projects, the gaming division (with significant cuts at San Diego and Irvine studios), and the advertising sales and visual search teams (Amazon Lens).

The paradox

The deep cuts to engineering staff come despite repeated assertions from CEO Andy Jassy that the company needs to "innovate much faster" and is shifting billions in capital expenditure to AI infrastructure and data centers.

"This is the stark reality of the 'AI-first' era," said one industry observer. "Companies are cutting human resources in development while funneling massive budgets into the machines that will eventually replace some of those functions. Amazon is prioritizing machine intelligence over its traditional human engineering bench."

Jassy’s mission: Leaner and faster

The layoffs, which represent Amazon's steepest in its 31-year history, are framed by leadership as a necessary step to reduce "bureaucracy and layers" that accumulated during the pandemic-era hiring boom.

In an internal memo, Amazon HR Chief Beth Galetti emphasized the need to organize more leanly to "move as quickly as possible." While the company insists AI is not the main driver of the cuts, Jassy has previously predicted that the corporate workforce will shrink in the coming years due to efficiency gains provided by AI.

The filings suggest that while Amazon continues to hire strategically in areas like AWS AI platforms and core cloud infrastructure, it is systematically removing positions that can be streamlined or automated, creating a leaner, more focused organization ready for the next wave of technological disruption.