Amazon will cut hundreds of jobs in its Amazon Web Services (AWS) division. The layoffs will impact “several hundred” sales, marketing and global services (SMGS) roles. In addition, AWS will also cut “a few hundred roles” on the Physical Stores Technology team, the retailer told Digital Commerce 360.

Amazon ranks No. 1 in the Top 1000, Digital Commerce 360’s database of the largest North American online retailers. It is also No. 3 in Digital Commerce 360’s Global Online Marketplaces Database, which ranks the 100 largest such marketplaces by third-party GMV.

AWS areas impacted by job cuts

The SMGS layoffs are primarily related to business changes in Training & Certification and Sales, Amazon said. AWS is prioritizing self-service in digital training, leading to job cuts. It also found duplicate jobs across program management and sales operations, which will be eliminated. Other job cuts are due to reinvestments and streamlining teams, it said. 

The Physical Stores Technology cuts are part of a “broader strategic shift” in Amazon and third-party stores, the business said.

“We’ve identified a few targeted areas of the organization we need to streamline in order to continue focusing our efforts on the key strategic areas that we believe will deliver maximum impact,” an AWS spokesperson said in a written statement. “We didn’t make these decisions lightly, and we’re committed to supporting the employees throughout their transition to new roles in and outside of Amazon. These decisions are difficult but necessary as we continue to invest, hire, and optimize resources to deliver innovation for our customers.”

Amazon said it is still hiring in other areas, with thousands of AWS jobs posted currently. 

AWS results

AWS revenue grew 13% to $24.2 billion in its fourth fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31. The segment recorded an operating income of $7.2 billion in the quarter, compared to $5.2 billion in the year-ago period.

For the full fiscal year, AWS revenue also grew 13%. It reached $90.8 billion.

“AWS’s continued long-term focus on customers and feature delivery, coupled with new GenAI capabilities like Bedrock, Q, and Trainium, have resonated with customers and are starting to be reflected in our overall results,” CEO Andy Jassy said in a statement at the time.

Amazon replaces Just Walk Out technology

At the same time as the news of the AWS layoffs, Amazon also shared that it will remove its Just Walk Out checkout technology from its Amazon Fresh grocery stores. It will replace them with Dash Carts, Amazon’s smart shopping carts.

The job cuts are not related to the Just Walk Out technology changes, an Amazon spokesperson said.

Just Walk Out technology will continue to be used in Amazon Go stores, Amazon Fresh stores in the U.K., and among third-party retailers.

Other Amazon job cuts

Amazon announced it would lay off about 5% of its Buy with Prime unit in January, impacting about 30 workers.

Buy with Prime gives retailers access to Amazon’s fulfillment and logistics network and payments system for products not listed on Amazon. In the week preceding the layoffs, Amazon announced a new integration for the service for Salesforce clients.

“Buy with Prime is a top priority for Amazon, with strong adoption from merchants and positive feedback from customers, and we will continue investing significant resources in Buy with Prime to build on that momentum,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “We’re grateful to these employees for their contributions, and we’re focused on supporting them in their next steps.”

Amazon also laid off 500 workers at streaming platform Twitch and hundreds of employees at Prime Video earlier in January.

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