The news of Amazon letting go over 16,000 workers globally had grabbed headlines a couple of days ago. At the time it wasn’t clear how much of the India team would be impacted. Now, as per media reports, at least 500 have been impacted, and the number may go up to 700. The hardest hit teams are technology and human resources, with software development engineers (SDEs) seeing the largest number of job losses.
Although the company has not commented directly, it has reportedly referred to an internal note from Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience and technology. The note, as per Inc42, explains that Amazon is reorganising to reduce management layers, increase accountability, and cut bureaucracy. It emphasised that while thousands of roles are being eliminated, Amazon will continue hiring in strategic areas. The layoffs, she said, are not intended to become a regular large scale practice.
Amazon has promised to help the impacted staff through the transition. The company has reportedly offered severance pay, job placement services, and health insurance, depending on local rules.
This is not the first round of cuts in India. In November 2025, Amazon reportedly laid off up to 1,500 employees across its Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru offices. Those layoffs affected teams in Prime Video, HR, devices, retail and AWS, with some entire teams being let go.
The latest job cuts come as Amazon focuses on long term priorities such as artificial intelligence. Globally, many companies are using AI to automate tasks, which has contributed to workforce reductions. In India alone, startups fired more than 9,500 employees in 2025.