Retail and cloud giant Amazon is kicking off a sweeping lay-off of white-collar
staff today while gearing up to reveal its next quarterly earnings, with Wall
Street already watching the holiday line.
Up to 30,000 Jobs on the Chopping Block
Amazon is said
to be planning up to 30,000 corporate job cuts starting today (October 28).
That number is a big deal: with roughly 350,000 white-collar staff, that’s
almost 10% of the corporate workforce.
Amazon to cut 30,000 corporate jobs — 9% of worldwide office workforce: report pic.twitter.com/grra8IkYhJ
— New York Post (@nypost) October 27, 2025
According to reports, the cuts are aimed at “paring
expenses and compensating for over-hiring during the peak demand of the
pandemic.” While Amazon hasn’t responded to comments, the leaks suggest the
wave will hit across multiple business units, including HR (the People Experience
& Technology division), operations, devices & services and cloud
(Amazon Web Services).
A key note: this isn’t just volume. It’s the largest corporate layoff
round in Amazon’s history, the prior big one in late 2022/2023 was around
27,000 jobs.
Why Now? Cost, Automation and an Earnings Date
There are two big triggers at play here. First: cost discipline. Amazon
apparently needs to recalibrate after pandemic hiring surges. Second: AI and
automation. Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, said the following in
a recent blog post, “As we roll out more Generative AI and agents, it
should change the way our work is done. We will need fewer people doing some of
the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs …”
Whenever there is a wave of layoffs or the threat of roles being cut out from an organizational structure, the usual likely culprits tend to be roles that are repetitive or routine in nature. pic.twitter.com/J7CNCs8Jlb
— Forbes (@Forbes) October 25, 2025
It’s also worth connecting the dots: these cuts start just ahead of its
Q3 earnings, which means the message to investors is loud and clear, we’re
tightening our belt. But whether that earns investor applause or suspicion
depends on what comes next.
The Results Date: Earnings Arrive October 30
While the layoffs grab headlines, the underlying business gets
spotlight on October 30, when
Amazon reports its third quarter (Q3 2025) results after market close.
Wall Street’s expectations are reasonable but loaded with caveats.
Anticipated revenue is around $177.7 billion and EPS near $1.57 per share, up
9.8% from a year ago. One
market note puts expectations at roughly 10-13 % revenue growth
year-on-year.
So: layoffs today, earnings tomorrow, if Amazon shows strong top-line
growth and healthy margins, the job-cuts may be seen as strategic. If results
under-deliver, those 30,000 roles could look less like streamlining and more
like panic.
Layoffs + Earnings = Signal or Warning?
From one angle, this move may reassure investors: Amazon is proactively
trimming overhead, confronting inefficiencies, and aligning its cost base ahead
of the high-stakes holiday season. In a world where tech-giants’ cost
structures are under scrutiny, that counts for something.
Exclusive: Amazon plans to cut as many as 30,000 corporate jobs as the company works to pare expenses and compensate for overhiring during the peak demand of the pandemic, according to three people familiar with the matter https://t.co/3X1CHRDXfO
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 27, 2025
On the flip side: cutting up to 10 % of the corporate workforce just
days before earnings could raise red flags. Are they simply ahead of schedule?
Or is something worse lurking? Growth in cloud and e-commerce has been under
pressure, and Amazon’s advertising and cloud segments are being compared to
competitors such as Microsoft Corporation and Alphabet Inc..
Also, morale and internal disruption can bite the company reportedly
trained managers Monday for how to break the news. That suggests the move is
serious and broad.
What to Watch in the Report
- Cloud growth (AWS): Is Amazon showing signs of margin recovery or just
heavy spend? Guidance around AI infrastructure and cost-intensity will be scrutinized. - Retail/holiday outlook: Q3 is the prelude to the Q4 holiday surge, how
Amazon guides into the holiday season will matter. - Advertising business: A high-margin pillar; needs to keep growing to
offset slower e-commerce growth. - Cost-structure narrative: With job cuts announced, investors will look
for commentary on savings metrics, restructuring charges, severance, and how
jobs tie into automation/AI. - Guidance: Especially important — any softness in Q4 or warning on
consumer demand might be amplified given the layoff news.
Bottom Line
Amazon has dropped a corporate bombshell. Starting today, up to 30,000
jobs, nearly 10 % of its corporate headcount, could be cut. That’s hard to
ignore. Meanwhile, the company is just days away from its Q3 earnings release
on October 30, putting this cost-cutting move in the limelight. Whether this is
a bold stride toward leaner operations or a sign of pressure depends on what
the numbers say. Investors will judge whether Amazon’s future remains
growth-oriented or increasingly defensive.
Expect the headlines and maybe the tremors.
For more news around the fringes of finance and tech, visit our Trending pages.
This article was written by Louis Parks at www.financemagnates.com.
Source link
