Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, following the company’s latest wave of layoffs that stunned the tech world, has said the decision to cut 14,000 corporate jobs this week was not about artificial intelligence or finances. It was, instead, about “culture.”
That word—simple yet loaded—has become Jassy’s new mantra as he seeks to redefine how the $1.8 trillion company operates in a post-pandemic world. During Amazon’s earnings call on Thursday, Jassy explained that as the company expanded over the years, it accumulated layers of management, processes, and bureaucracy that, in his view, diluted the sense of ownership among employees.
“As you grow and add more people, locations, and businesses, you end up with a lot more layers,” he said. “Sometimes without realizing it, you can weaken the ownership of the people that you have who are doing the actual work.”
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Jassy’s approach is seen as part of his ongoing push to return Amazon to what he calls “the world’s largest startup”—a leaner, faster, and more disciplined company. He has made it a mission to root out inefficiency and restore a performance-driven mindset. Part of that effort includes an anonymous complaint line that has already generated 1,500 reports and resulted in more than 450 process changes.
But not everyone is convinced that “culture” fully explains the layoffs. Earlier reports from Reuters and The Wall Street Journal suggested the cuts—potentially affecting up to 30,000 corporate staff—were a response to overhiring during the pandemic and the growing role of AI in automating tasks. And while Jassy downplayed both factors, his own executives have hinted otherwise.
However, Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of experience and technology, wrote that “this generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the internet, and it’s enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before.” The comment reinforced concerns that automation is steadily reshaping the company’s workforce—even if Jassy prefers to frame the changes as cultural rather than technological.
Those concerns are not unfounded. Amazon has long been accused of quietly preparing to replace tens of thousands of warehouse workers with robots. The company denied that claim earlier this year, but it also unveiled two new warehouse robots designed to perform tasks traditionally handled by humans.
The layoffs come despite Amazon’s robust financial performance. The company’s third-quarter earnings exceeded Wall Street expectations, with revenue climbing to $180.17 billion and shares surging 14%. That success makes the timing of the job cuts all the more difficult for affected employees, many of whom see “culture” as a euphemism for efficiency drives and cost savings.
Jassy, who has led the company through years of restructuring and cost-cutting, however, insists the goal is to ensure Amazon doesn’t lose the agility that once defined it.
“It can lead to slowing you down as a leadership team,” he said. “We are committed to operating like the world’s largest startup, and that means removing layers.”
The company’s total headcount, which peaked at 1.6 million in 2021, stood at about 1.5 million at the end of last year—a figure likely to fall further as Jassy pursues his vision of a flatter, faster Amazon.
For those inside the company, Jassy’s message is that Amazon’s next chapter won’t just be about AI or automation. It will be about survival in a culture that rewards speed and precision over size—a return to its scrappy origins, even if it means leaving thousands behind.
