Amazon Replaces Managers With Machines: 14,000 Jobs Cut in AI Restructuring

‎Amazon’s latest round of layoffs has redrawn the lines of workplace automation. Just days after reports surfaced suggesting the company might replace warehouse workers with robots, the e-commerce giant confirmed that 14,000 corporate positions—primarily middle managers—will be cut.

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Amazon cuts 14,000 corporate jobs as AI reshapes white-collar work, signaling a major shift in how automation impacts management roles.

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‎The decision, which affects about 4% of Amazon’s white-collar workforce, is part of a restructuring aimed at reducing bureaucracy and streamlining operations. According to Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience, the move will help the company stay agile as it expands its investment in generative AI technologies.

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‎AI Takes Over Managerial Tasks

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‎Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has previously emphasized the company’s pivot toward automation in decision-making and planning. Generative AI tools are now capable of performing many of the coordination and reporting duties traditionally handled by mid-level managers. Tasks such as drafting memos, summarizing meetings, and analyzing performance data are increasingly being delegated to algorithms.

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‎This growing reliance on AI aligns with a broader trend across corporate America. Executives are under mounting pressure to reduce costs and increase efficiency, making the flattening of organizational hierarchies a compelling option.

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‎The New Face of Automation

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‎Amazon’s restructuring underscores an unexpected shift: AI’s disruption may hit white-collar professionals before blue-collar workers. Analysts at Gartner project that by 2026, 20% of organizations will use AI to remove half of their management layers.

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‎For workers seeking career advancement, especially younger employees, the timing poses challenges. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell recently noted that hiring has slowed significantly for early-career professionals, as companies adopt a “low-hire, low-fire” stance in response to productivity gains and economic caution.

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‎Broader Layoff Wave Across Industries

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‎Amazon is not alone in cutting jobs amid AI adoption. Target has initiated its first major layoffs in a decade, eliminating nearly 2,000 positions, while Paramount has begun letting go of 1,000 employees following its merger with Skydance.

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‎According to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, U.S. employers have announced 946,000 job cuts so far in 2025—the highest total since 2020. Of these, over 17,000 have been explicitly linked to AI-related changes, with another 20,000 attributed to automation. Tech firms have shed 108,000 jobs this year, and retail layoffs are up 203% compared to 2024.

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‎Senior Vice President Andy Challenger noted that job cut plans could exceed one million for the first time since the pandemic, mirroring previous waves of automation that reshaped both manufacturing and technology sectors.

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‎The Future of Work Under AI

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‎Amazon’s restructuring illustrates how generative AI is redefining the corporate workforce from the top down. As companies adopt AI-driven systems to streamline management, the balance between technology and human oversight is rapidly evolving—reshaping not only how work is done, but who does it.