The shock wave from Amazon’s largest round of layoffs in history is still rippling through the tech industry. Especially engineers are suffering the most due to this. Nearly 40 percent of the 4,700 confirmed job openings in states like New York, California, New Jersey and Washington involve engineering roles, according to new data from CNBC. And that’s just a fraction of the more than 14,000 layoffs announced by Amazon last month, with more details from other areas yet to be revealed.

Even as Amazon continues to post record profits and strong earnings, it joins the ever-growing list of tech giants reducing their workforce in the name of efficiency and future-preparation. The company’s ongoing restructuring reflects a broader pattern across Silicon Valley, with more than 113,000 tech jobs disappearing at more than 230 companies this year alone.

Engineers most affected by layoff of technical staff

State-level filings analyzed by CNBC show that engineering roles account for about 40 percent of the cuts confirmed so far. The data, taken from WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) filings, highlights how deeply the layoffs are affecting Amazon’s technological backbone. Since not all US states disclose detailed information, the actual figure may be even higher.

For the thousands of engineers affected, these layoffs mark a painful moment at a company that was once known for relentless innovation and aggressive hiring. Amazon has said the job cuts are part of a larger cultural reset led by CEO Andy Jassy, ​​who is determined to make the giant organization leaner and faster.

In a statement addressing the layoffs, Amazon said, “Some may ask why we are reducing roles when the company is performing well. Across our businesses, we are delivering great customer experiences, innovating faster, and driving stronger business results every day. We need to remember that the world is changing rapidly. This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet, and it’s helping companies transform faster than ever. enabling innovation (in existing market segments and entirely new ones).”

The explanation reflects a growing reality within Big Tech: Success on the balance sheet does not always mean job security. Companies like Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft are continuing to aggressively restructure, funneling resources into artificial intelligence while reducing traditional roles.

Reshaping for the AI-first era

Amazon’s pivot toward a more AI-centric future has taken years, but Jassy has made it clear that this transformation requires a smaller, more agile workforce. Earlier this year, he warned employees that generative AI would inevitably lead to “significant reduction in corporate roles” in the coming years.

In June, Jassy revealed that Amazon already had more than 1,000 generative AI tools and applications either in development or in place across its business units, from product recommendations to warehouse robotics and cloud automation. The company reiterated last month that the change calls for a new structure:

The cuts may seem drastic, but they are in line with broader industry patterns. In the realm of technology, companies are streamlining operations, not because they are struggling financially, but because AI automation promises to do more with less. Amazon’s massive layoffs, while painful, represent a deliberate effort to reshape itself for that future.

For now, the numbers tell a sobering story, with thousands of Amazon employees left unemployed, nearly half of them engineers, the same people who helped build the company’s tech empire. But for JC and his leadership team, this restructuring is less about contraction and more about growth. In his view, the company isn’t shrinking, it’s repositioning for the next era of AI-driven growth.