Global technology giant Amazon continues to recalibrate its workforce as part of a major restructuring exercise, with reports suggesting deeper job cuts across its cloud computing arm in India.
According to industry sources, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has reportedly laid off a significant number of employees from its Generative AI-focused teams, especially those working on Amazon Bedrock in Bengaluru and Chennai. Nearly 400 out of an estimated 450 employees in these teams are said to have been impacted, though the company has disputed these figures.
AWS Responds to Layoff Reports
An AWS spokesperson clarified that the reported numbers are “widely inaccurate” and exaggerated the actual scale of layoffs in India.
“We are focused on strengthening our organisation by reducing unnecessary layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy. This enables us to operate like the world’s largest start-up and gives employees more opportunities to make a meaningful impact,” the spokesperson said.
The company also emphasized that it remains committed to investing in AI and cloud innovation, particularly in its Bedrock platform, which currently supports more than 100,000 organizations worldwide.
Strategic Shift Toward SageMaker
In an internal communication reviewed by businessline, AWS Vice President Barry Cooks highlighted a significant shift in the company’s technology strategy. He revealed that AWS is placing increased focus on Amazon SageMaker as the primary gateway for AI training, customization, high-performance computing (HPC), and quantum experimentation.
SageMaker, a fully managed machine learning service, is now being positioned as the central platform for advanced AI workloads, indicating a strategic realignment away from fragmented development models.
At the same time, Amazon Bedrock, which enables businesses to build generative AI applications at scale, remains a core product in AWS’s long-term roadmap.
Layoffs Impact Multiple Locations
Sources indicate that workforce reductions are not limited to India. Employees across several global offices—including the Bay Area, New York, and California in the US, as well as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Pune in India—have been affected.
Earlier reports had suggested that Amazon India could lay off nearly 1,100 employees as part of its global cost-cutting initiative.
Industry experts note that most of the job cuts are concentrated in corporate, technology, and internal support roles, rather than frontline operations.
Between Hiring and Downsizing
In a blog post published in January, Amazon confirmed that it would lay off around 16,000 employees globally, following another round in October that impacted nearly 14,000 staff members. Combined, these layoffs bring the total estimated job cuts close to 30,000 over recent months.
Despite these reductions, Amazon continues to hire aggressively in select segments. During its Q3 2025 earnings call, the company announced plans to recruit hundreds of thousands of seasonal workers, including around 150,000 in India and 250,000 in the US.
Currently, Amazon employs over 1.53 million people worldwide.
Strong Financial Performance for AWS
Interestingly, the layoffs come at a time when AWS continues to deliver strong financial results. In Q3 2025, AWS recorded a 20% year-on-year growth in revenue, reaching $33 billion. Operating income rose to $11.4 billion, compared to $10.4 billion in the same period last year.
Speaking about the company’s performance, Andy Jassy, President and CEO of Amazon, stated:
“AWS is growing at a pace we haven’t seen since 2022. We continue to see strong demand in AI and core infrastructure and have focused on expanding capacity by adding more than 3.8 gigawatts in the last 12 months.”
Industry Experts Weigh In
Technology analysts believe that the current wave of layoffs reflects Amazon’s broader effort to optimize costs and prioritize high-growth areas such as artificial intelligence, cloud automation, and advanced computing.
“With rising investments in AI infrastructure, companies like Amazon are streamlining traditional teams to fund next-generation technologies,” said an industry expert.
What This Means for Job Seekers
For professionals working in cloud computing, data science, and AI, the restructuring signals both challenges and opportunities. While certain roles are being phased out, demand remains strong for specialists in machine learning, cloud security, DevOps, and AI engineering.
Recruiters suggest that displaced employees may find new opportunities in startups, enterprise tech firms, and emerging AI-focused companies.
