I wonder what kind of unprecedented economic growth we'd be seeing right now if we kept with the status quo rather than imposing tariffs and scaring off foreign investors.
Amazon cuts 16k jobs
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Re: Amazon cuts 16k jobs
#12Some of these are obviously related to the closing of some of the retail businesses. And some might simply be middle management bloat that happens often at tech companies.
But imagine you're one of the people who remain (e.g., not impacted by the eliminated companies or products) and now there are fewer people to do the same amount of work? I've seen that movie and it usually has an economic impact 6-9 months later when people burn out.
It's almost like you can write the script:
Month 0–3: Survivors are relieved, grateful, and over-perform. Leadership reads this as “proof the cuts worked.”
Month 3–6: Context loss shows up. Decision latency increases. Domain knowledge walked out the door.
Month 6–9: Burnout, attrition, and quality failures begin. The “hidden layoffs” start as top performers quietly leave.
Month 9–12: Rehiring or contracting resumes (usually at higher cost)
The key misunderstanding here is assuming AI substitutes for organizational slack and human coordination. It doesn’t.
And sometimes middle management "bloat" is misdiagnosed. Remove them without redesigning decision rights and workflows, and the load doesn’t disappear it redistributes to the IC's.
Watch for Amazon "strategic investments" in early Q4 2026 (this will be a cover for the rehiring).
Re: Amazon cuts 16k jobs
#13Every large company is updating its standard layoffs announcement press release from "economic headwinds" to "AI".
“Overhiring during the pandemic” was a common, senseless, catchphrase a few years ago.
Re: Amazon cuts 16k jobs
#14Re: Amazon cuts 16k jobs
#15AI is just the disguise. It's the economy, just like it is in every recession.
The US economy is mostly AI at this point.
Re: Amazon cuts 16k jobs
#16Alexa, insert David and Victoria Beckham "be honest" meme
What's the real reason for the layoffs?
Re: Amazon cuts 16k jobs
#17Every large company is updating its standard layoffs announcement press release from "economic headwinds" to "AI".
“Overhiring during the pandemic” was a common, senseless, catchphrase a few years ago.
Amazon just recently used that excuse for their 2025 layoffs a few months ago iirc.
Re: Amazon cuts 16k jobs
#18I feel like this is the most natural layoff I've seen in twenty years (that is not the same as saying I feel good about it). Truly, most software companies need to cut their entire roster and re-draft quite frankly. You will need less people and have entirely new goals. This is beyond "economic" reality, AI has made it intuitive to restructure and reorient. Not doing so will just mean you will be blind-sided by any company that leaned down and re-envisioned their entire product.
So many products turned into feature mill factories. If things can get more concentrated and directed, then I think this will be better for all in terms of finding their true purpose in life.
Re: Amazon cuts 16k jobs
#19Some of these are obviously related to the closing of some of the retail businesses. And some might simply be middle management bloat that happens often at tech companies. But imagine you're one of the people who remain (e.g., not impacted by the eliminated companies or products) and now there are fewer people to do the same amount of work? I've seen that movie and it usually has an economic impact 6-9 months later w…
I've noticed at my company after a lot of layoffs and restructuring and moving people between projects, when I ask "who is responsible for X now?" there can be a lot of confusion getting the answer to that question.
Re: Amazon cuts 16k jobs
#20I wonder what kind of unprecedented economic growth we'd be seeing right now if we kept with the status quo rather than imposing tariffs and scaring off foreign investors.
I mean maybe that's the good news. There is huge potential for an upswing!