News

After $100 Million AI Investment, Amazon Lays Off Cloud Workers

• By David Ramel
• 07/18/2025

There was no official announcement, but Amazon has confirmed to multiple sources that it has laid off many employees in its Amazon Web Services (AWS) division, with the news coming after another massive investment in AI technologies. Such moves among hyperscalers have raised questions about the future of cloud computing and the role of AI in shaping the industry.

Reuters was early with the news yesterday, citing official confirmation, and the media outlet pointed to its June report that Amazon's corporate workforce may shrink as AI takes over routine tasks. As we reported last week, this bucks the common mantra in the GenAI industry that AI isn't coming for peoples' jobs, but rather that it would create new opportunities and roles. However, the reality appears to be more complex, with AI technologies now being integrated into existing cloud services, leading to a re-evaluation of workforce needs (see "Are Cloud Giant AI Investments Being Fueled by Workforce Reductions?").

As AWS shifts its focus towards AI-driven solutions, the implications for cloud infrastructure and services are profound. The layoffs may signal a reallocation of resources towards developing and integrating AI capabilities into existing cloud offerings, potentially leading to a more streamlined and efficient cloud ecosystem.

Industry experts are monitoring these developments, as they could set a precedent for other cloud providers navigating the intersection of AI and cloud computing. The future landscape may see a greater emphasis on AI-enhanced cloud services, with companies needing to adapt to stay competitive in this evolving market.

Meanwhile, Business Insider reported the layoffs were being discussed in internal Slack messages that gave clues as to what units and workers were affected, noting this official confirmation from spokesperson Brad Glasser: "After a thorough review of our organization, our priorities, and what we need to focus on going forward, we've made the difficult business decision to eliminate some roles across particular teams in AWS. These decisions are necessary as we continue to invest, hire, and optimize resources to deliver innovation for our customers."

That echoes confirmation reported by Reuters, which noted this from a spokesperson: "We've made the difficult business decision to eliminate some roles across particular teams in AWS. These decisions are necessary as we continue to invest, hire, and optimize resources to deliver innovation for our customers."

This news comes after AWS pumped an additional $100 million in funding to boost agentic AI development in its Generative AI Innovation Center, announced during this week's New York summit. The initiative provides AWS experts to enterprise teams working on generative and agent-based applications.

Synthesizing the numbers (with AI), we found that Amazon laid off some 14,000 employees in 2024-25, while racking up more than $40 billion in AI and cloud investments in the same period.