Amazon’s latest round of corporate restructuring has once again brought the spotlight onto the global debate around artificial intelligence (AI), corporate culture, and job security. As reported by Mint, the e-commerce giant is preparing to eliminate nearly 14,000 managerial positions in early 2025, a move aimed at saving between Rs 210 crore and Rs 360 crore annually.
The restructuring is part of Amazon Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Andy Jassy’s plan to significantly flatten the company’s corporate hierarchy. According to Mint, Jassy had previously announced the goal of increasing the ratio of individual contributors to managers by 15 per cent by March 2025.
Now, with over 13 per cent of management roles on the chopping block, the company seems set to surpass that target.
These changes are expected to reduce Amazon’s managerial headcount from 1,05,770 to around 91,936. Internal guidelines also instructed the Amazon Web Services (AWS) sales team to pause hiring new managers until the reorganisation is clearer.
The company’s shares reflected market unease, trading 2.11 per cent lower at $191.61 at 12.46 pm EDT on March 18, compared to $195.74 the previous day.
However, beyond financial figures and organisational charts, the human cost of this move has drawn criticism. Gurmeet Chadha, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at Complete Circle, expressed strong disapproval on X (formerly Twitter), criticising what he called “drama” in corporate messaging.
“Amazon is laying off 10,000 more people after laying off 18k in November. They call their HR heads as People Experience Head, Chief People Officer and fancy names… employees r called families. Sab drama!!” he posted on March 17. He further added that any innovation that brings “misery to ur own people is useless,” invoking the Sikh principle of Sarbat da bhalla (welfare of all).
Akshat Shrivastava, founder of the finance education platform Wisdom Hatch, questioned the necessity of these layoffs, given Amazon’s substantial cash reserves of over $100 billion. He also highlighted the disparity in social security benefits between employees in the United States of America (USA) and India, pointing out that losing a job in India could have far more severe financial consequences.
Interestingly, the strategy of reducing middle management appears to resonate with younger employees.
A Robert Walters survey found that 52 per cent of Generation Z workers prefer to avoid managerial roles altogether, while 72 per cent seek career progression without supervisory responsibilities. This generational preference seems to align with Jassy’s vision, who, in a Bloomberg interview, criticised the existing culture of excessive meetings and multiple management layers.
Amazon’s move is part of a broader trend, with tech giants like Meta, Google, Intel, and HP all downsizing in the name of efficiency and so-called ‘conscious unbossing.’ But the question remains: can innovation and cost-cutting truly balance with compassion?
