On Wednesday, Amazon announced the elimination of approximately 100 positions within its devices and services division, which is responsible for developing a range of products such as the Kindle, Echo speakers, Alexa voice assistant, and Zoox autonomous vehicles.
The company confirmed the layoffs after being prompted for information by Reuters. A spokesperson indicated that the affected roles comprised a minor fraction of the overall workforce within that unit and were part of a standard business evaluation process. Details regarding which specific divisions were impacted were not disclosed.
“In our continuous effort to streamline operations and align more closely with our product roadmap, we have made the challenging decision to reduce a small number of roles,” the spokesperson stated.
This round of job cuts follows earlier reductions in positions related to Alexa in 2023 and has been part of a broader trend of minor layoffs across different groups, including the Wondery podcast, retail, and communications divisions. However, Amazon’s recent earnings report indicated that the company added around 4,000 jobs between the fourth quarter of the previous year and the first quarter of the current year.
The decision to cut jobs comes less than three months after Amazon enacted a significant update to Alexa, integrating generative artificial intelligence technology to enhance its conversational abilities and user interaction features.
CEO Andy Jassy is focusing on minimizing what he has described as excessive bureaucracy within the organization, which includes plans to cut the number of managerial positions.
On the financial front, Amazon’s stock concluded the trading day marginally lower, closing at $210.25.
© Thomson Reuters 2025
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