NEW YORK, Jan 23, 2026, 10:38 AM ET — Regular session
- Amazon shares climbed roughly 1.5% while broader U.S. equities remained mostly flat
- Report indicates a fresh wave of corporate layoffs may kick off as early as next week
- Investors are turning their attention to Amazon’s Feb. 5 earnings and guidance
Shares of Amazon.com Inc climbed roughly 1.5% on Friday following a Reuters report that the company plans another wave of corporate job cuts next week, aiming to trim its white-collar staff further. The stock hovered near $238 as the Nasdaq 100 edged up and the S&P 500 showed little movement. 1
Timing is crucial as investors scramble to gauge Amazon’s cost structure ahead of its upcoming earnings, following a year when “efficiency” dominated tech talk. For Amazon, the focus remains on balancing profit growth with hefty investments in data centers and logistics.
Layoffs won’t boost revenue instantly, but they often reset margin expectations and tighten management discipline. Traders interpret them as clues about where executives sense growth is waning and which segments might handle more automation.
Sources familiar with the situation told Reuters that the newest round of cuts might start as soon as Tuesday, potentially affecting Amazon Web Services—the cloud arm offering internet-based computing and storage—as well as retail, Prime Video, and HR. Amazon declined to comment, and the insiders noted that plans could still shift.
The report comes after Amazon slashed roughly 14,000 corporate jobs in October, about half of its planned cut of 30,000 roles, Reuters reported. If the full target is met, it would mark the largest corporate layoff in Amazon’s history—though it remains a small fraction of its total workforce of 1.58 million, the majority of whom are in warehouses and delivery.
Chief executive Andy Jassy described previous layoffs as efforts to cut bureaucracy, not just a quick financial fix. On a past earnings call, he called the cuts “it’s culture,” saying the company had accumulated “a lot more layers” during its growth.
In a message to staff last October, Amazon’s HR chief Beth Galetti announced a reorganization aimed at “further reduc[e] bureaucracy” and refocusing resources on bigger bets. She called this generation of AI “the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet,” highlighting how artificial intelligence tools can automate routine tasks. 2
Amazon announced it will release its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings on Feb. 5, followed by a conference call at 5 p.m. ET. Investors will zero in on AWS growth, advertising performance, and any updates to 2026 spending strategies. 3
Job cuts can backfire. When layoffs hit customer-facing roles, sales, or engineering teams working on new products, investors often shift focus from cost savings to concerns over execution risk.
The competitive landscape remains ruthless. AWS is up against Microsoft and Alphabet’s Google in a cloud market where major clients are squeezing vendors on both price and performance. Even slight shifts in demand can quickly force adjustments to guidance.
Traders will be looking next week for signs that the cuts are actually happening and for any new details on their scale. The real test arrives Feb. 5, when Amazon updates its outlook—investors will then weigh if the cost story holds up or if it’s just noise.
