Amazon Layoffs 2026: Another series of job cuts after nearly 16,000 in January; AI division severely impacted

Amazon Layoffs 2026: Another series of job cuts after nearly 16,000 in January; AI division severely impacted

Globally recognised e-commerce company Amazon has carried out another round of layoffs, this time affecting employees in its Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) division. The decision has been taken on account of the company's ongoing restructuring efforts after it announced much larger job cuts earlier this year.

The AGI department's focus is to outperform humans by learning, adapting and functioning independently. Several leading technology companies are investing heavily in the field as they race to develop advanced AI systems capable of solving complex real-world problems.

Addressing the subject, an Amazon spokesperson told Reuters that the company remains committed to AI development but at the same time the focus is on streamlining priorities too.

"We've been building large AI models for several years, and it remains one of the most important things we're working on," the spokesperson said.

"We're sharpening our focus on the initiatives that matter most for customers, so we can move faster on what counts. That focus means some difficult decisions, including eliminating some roles within parts of our AGI organization."

Amazon has witnessed key leadership changes in its AGI business over the past few months. Rohit Prasad, who earlier oversaw the company's AGI efforts, left at the end of last year, while David Luan, who headed the AGI lab, exited in February. In December, the company handed the AGI operations to Senior Vice President Peter DeSantis.

Going back to the recent layoffs, some of the posts shared by employees on online forums suggest that staff working under Adeeb Shanaa, VP of AGI Data Services, and Vishal Sharma, VP of AGI Information, were among those affected. However, Amazon has not disclosed the total number of employees who have been told to leave.

Notably, the latest layoffs come after Amazon eliminated nearly 16,000 jobs across different business units in January as part of a broader cost-cutting exercise.