To accelerate innovation, Amazon has laid off over 1,800 engineers, with mid-level engineers hit the hardest.

Documents from U.S. state governments show that Amazon’s large-scale layoffs announced last month have impacted engineers the most.

According to Amazon’s recent Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filings submitted to U.S. state agencies, of the approximately 4,700 positions cut in Washington, New York, New Jersey, and California, nearly 40% were engineering and technology roles, affecting more than 1,800 engineers.

Apart from engineers, positions such as product managers and project managers were also heavily affected, making up more than 10%. The video game division, visual search team, and advertising business all faced significant impact. The layoffs of over 14,000 employees announced last month have touched nearly all of Amazon’s business segments.

Reports state Amazon is expected to continue layoffs in January next year. In a layoff memo, Amazon’s Head of Human Resources Beth Galetti described artificial intelligence technology as "the most transformative technology since the Internet," and emphasized the need for a "leaner organizational structure" to respond quickly to the market.

This round of layoffs comes amidst an industry-wide “slimming” trend in the tech sector. Statistics show that since the start of this year, 231 tech companies have laid off nearly 113,000 employees, continuing the post-pandemic business adjustment trend that began in 2022.

Mid-level Engineers Hit the Hardest

According to WARN filings, the layoffs affected software engineers of all levels, but mid-level engineers (SDE II) were especially impacted.

In addition, over 500 product managers and project managers were laid off, accounting for more than 10% of known layoffs. The reports also indicate that senior managers and principal-level positions were not spared.

At the same time, the rise of AI technology is reshaping the software development job market.

As companies like Cursor, OpenAI, and Cognition launch AI programming assistants, landing a software development job is becoming increasingly difficult. It’s notable that Amazon has released a similar competing product called Kiro.

Although Amazon has downplayed AI’s direct role in the layoffs, it’s clear that artificial intelligence is an unignorable factor behind these organizational changes.

The company made it clear that it is reallocating resources to increase investment in artificial intelligence, and CEO Jassy predicted as early as June that with efficiency gains brought by AI, the number of corporate employees would decrease in the coming years.

HR Head Beth Galetti's memo also directly linked restructuring with the speed of innovation in the AI era. She wrote:

This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we've seen since the Internet, enabling companies to innovate at an unprecedented pace.

Major Contraction in Gaming and Advertising Businesses

Additionally, Amazon’s video game division was a key target in this round of layoffs.

Steve Boom, vice president in charge of audio, Twitch, and gaming, informed employees in an internal memo that the San Diego and Irvine game studios, as well as the central publishing team, would face "major staff reductions."

The documents show that game designers, artists, and producers account for more than a quarter of total layoffs in Irvine, and about 11% at the San Diego office.

Boom wrote in the memo that the company is halting most big-budget "AAA" game development, especially large-scale multiplayer online games (MMOs). Amazon previously released MMOs such as "Crucible" and "New World," and is also developing a "Lord of the Rings"-based MMO.

Online advertising, one of Amazon’s largest profit centers, was also hit by layoffs. Documents show that more than 140 advertising sales and marketing positions were cut at the New York office, accounting for about 20% of the 760 positions eliminated there.

AI Search Team Scaled Down

Several employees posted on LinkedIn that Amazon’s visual search and shopping teams have also been significantly downsized.

This department is responsible for AI shopping tools such as Amazon Lens and Lens Live, which let users search for products in real time via cameras or images stored on devices.

The company launched Lens Live just this past September; the team is mainly based in Palo Alto, California.

Amazon’s WARN filings show that software engineers, applied scientists, and quality assurance engineers at this office have been seriously affected.

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