Amazon corporate headcount drops year-over-year as tech giant aims for efficiency

Amazon continues to take a cautious hiring approach with its corporate workforce, following years of huge headcount growth.

The company’s corporate headcount is “down slightly year-over-year,” according to Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky, speaking on a call with analysts following Amazon’s third quarter earnings release. Headcount has been flat since the end of December, Olsavsky said.

That’s a stark contrast to a five-year stretch between 2017 and 2022, when the company’s corporate headcount tripled, according to The Information.

In a bid to curb costs, Amazon laid off 27,000 corporate workers last year and continues to make cuts.

More streamlining could be on the way as Amazon aims to thin its management ranks. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told employees in Sept. 16 memo that the company will “increase the ratio of individual contributors to managers by at least 15% by the end of Q1 2025,” as part of his push to reduce overhead and get Amazon moving faster.

Analysts with Morgan Stanley wrote in a report this month that this could lead to $2 to $4 billion in savings in 2025, with a reduction of around 14,000 employees.

Meanwhile, Amazon is mandating a full return-to-office policy starting early next year, up from the current 3-days-per-week policy. Some employees say they are looking for a new job due to the change.

Amazon’s corporate workforce numbered around 350,000 in early 2023. It has not provided an updated number since then.

The company employed 1.55 million people worldwide as of Sept. 30, up 3% year-over-year. That number includes warehouse and logistics workers. The overall headcount growth is due to operational workforce increases.

Layoffs hit tech companies of all sizes during a broader industry slowdown that began in 2022. More than 264,000 tech workers were laid off last year, according to Layoffs.fyi.

Workforce cuts have slowed since then, but companies are still trimming headcount. Dropbox announced this week it is laying off 20% of its staff.

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