Operational Excellence (OPEX) Insight – Thursday - February 05, 2026: Amazon Eliminates 16,000 More Roles Despite Rising Profits.
Góc Nhìn Vận Hành Xuất Sắc – Thứ Năm, Ngày 05/02/2026: Amazon Sa Thải Thêm 16.000 Nhân Sự Dù Lợi Nhuận Tiếp Tục Tăng.
Welcome To Operational Excellence (OPEX) Insight Article For The Paid Subscriber-Only Edition.
This is the bilingual post in English and Vietnamese. Vietnamese is below.
Đây là bài viết song ngữ Anh-Việt. Tiếng Việt ở bên dưới.
English
PART 1 – OFFICIAL INFORMATION
In late January 2026, Amazon officially confirmed the elimination of approximately 16,000 corporate positions worldwide, marking the company’s second major layoff round within just a few months. Earlier, in October 2025, Amazon had already implemented another workforce reduction affecting around 14,000 positions. As a result, the total number of jobs cut across the two consecutive rounds reached nearly 30,000 employees, primarily within office-based and managerial roles. This information was confirmed by Reuters, Associated Press (AP News), and internal communications from Amazon.
According to statements from Amazon’s leadership, this latest round of layoffs is part of a large-scale operational restructuring program, focused on simplifying the organizational structure, reducing layers of middle management, and improving decision-making efficiency. Amazon emphasized that the move was not driven by declining revenue or financial distress, but rather by the need to realign its operating model with long-term strategy, particularly as AI and automation are being deployed more deeply across the organization.
Reports cited by Reuters indicate that the majority of affected roles were located in corporate functions and support operations, including middle management, administrative roles, office operations, and certain indirect functions across major business units such as retail, logistics, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). While Amazon did not release a detailed breakdown by division, it confirmed that most of the impacted positions were based in the United States, with a smaller portion in other markets such as Canada and Europe.
Regarding employee support, Amazon stated that affected U.S.-based employees would receive advance notice in accordance with regulations, be given time to apply for internal roles, and receive severance packages, career transition support, and continued health insurance coverage for a defined period. These details were corroborated by AP News and other major U.S. media outlets.
A notable aspect of this layoff round is that it occurred while Amazon continued to report profit growth in recent quarters. According to Reuters’ analysis, this underscores that the decision was strategic rather than reactive, aimed at adjusting cost structure, reducing operational complexity, and reallocating resources toward long-term priorities such as AI infrastructure, automation, and performance optimization.
Amazon’s leadership also acknowledged that during the strong post-COVID growth period, the company had expanded its corporate workforce faster than necessary, resulting in a bloated organization with overlapping management layers. The latest workforce reduction is viewed as a follow-up step to complete the streamlining process that some business units had not fully achieved during the earlier round.
According to analysts quoted by Reuters and AP News, Amazon’s decision to cut approximately 16,000 jobs represents one of the largest workforce events in the United States in early 2026. It also reflects a broader trend among major corporations: operational restructuring, reduction of indirect headcount, and increased investment in AI as a means of sustaining long-term efficiency.
Overall, Amazon’s continued elimination of roughly 16,000 jobs in its second layoff round signals a clear shift in operational thinking—from scaling through headcount expansion to system-level streamlining, flattened management structures, and technology-driven efficiency, even as business performance remains positive.
