<p><span style=”font-weight: 400;”><em><strong>ABP Live Deep Dive: </strong></em>Amazon’s layoffs are no longer new, but the impact, especially on Indian employees, needs a proper explanation. Over the past year, Amazon has cut close to 30,000 jobs globally, including around 16,000 roles in the most recent phase. While the company framed this as a global restructuring, internal messages, employee discussions, and leadership memos confirm that India was clearly part of the layoff cycle. </span></p>
<p><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>These cuts were not random. They were part of a long-delayed organisational reset that finally reached Indian teams.</span></p>
<h2><span style=”color: #ba372a;”><strong>Why Amazon Layoffs Happened & Why India Was Included</strong></span></h2>
<p><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>Amazon has explained that the layoffs were not sudden. They were the final outcome of a restructuring exercise that started months earlier. During the pandemic, Amazon hired aggressively across the world, including in India, to meet rising demand in e-commerce and cloud services.</span></p>
<p><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>Over time, the company felt its internal structure had become too layered and slow. Decision-making took longer, and teams had overlapping responsibilities. To fix this, Amazon decided to reduce management layers and streamline operations.</span></p>
<p><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>India is deeply integrated into Amazon’s global workforce. Many Indian teams work directly with global systems, products, and customers. </span></p>
<p><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>So when Amazon decided to reshape its organisation globally, Indian offices were naturally part of that decision.</span></p>
<p><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>As reported by </span><a href=”https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-layoffs-leaked-memos-job-cuts-startup-2026-1″><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>Business Standard</span></a><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>, Amazon did not announce separate country-wise numbers, but internal updates made it clear that India was among the affected regions.</span></p>
<h2><span style=”color: #ba372a;”><strong>Which Amazon India Teams Were Impacted By The Layoffs</strong></span></h2>
<p><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>The layoffs in India were not limited to a single function. Multiple corporate and technology teams were affected, particularly those linked to Amazon Web Services (AWS) and retail operations.</span></p>
<p><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>Some impacted teams were connected to cloud services, artificial intelligence platforms, data management, consulting units, and delivery experience operations. </span></p>
<p><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>A large number of affected employees were software engineers, which surprised many in the industry.</span></p>
<p><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>India has long been seen as Amazon’s technology backbone. The fact that engineering and cloud roles were impacted shows that these cuts were about restructuring, not performance issues.</span></p>
<p><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>Employees who lost their roles reportedly used internal communication channels to seek referrals and job leads, highlighting how widespread the impact was across Indian corporate teams.</span></p>
<h2><span style=”color: #ba372a;”><strong>How Amazon Managed Layoffs For Indian Employees</strong></span></h2>
<p><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>The layoff process in India followed a different timeline compared to the US. This is mainly due to local labour laws and consultation requirements.</span></p>
<p><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>In the US, most employees were given a 90-day window to apply for other internal roles. In India, notifications happened gradually, and in some cases, later than in Western markets.</span></p>
<p><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>Amazon leadership stated that affected employees would receive transition support based on local regulations. This could include severance pay, notice period compensation, and access to employee assistance programmes.</span></p>
<p><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>However, the slower communication process also created uncertainty among Indian employees, many of whom only learned about the scale of layoffs after global announcements were already public.</span></p>
<h2><span style=”color: #ba372a;”><strong>What Amazon Layoffs Mean For India’s Tech Workforce</strong></span></h2>
<p><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>The layoffs do not mean Amazon is pulling back from India. The company continues to invest in e-commerce infrastructure, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence in the country.</span></p>
<p><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>But the message is clear: India is no longer treated as a separate growth market. It is fully part of Amazon’s global corporate structure. When global cost-cutting or restructuring happens, Indian employees are equally affected.</span></p>
<p><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>For Indian tech professionals, this marks a shift in how job security is viewed in large tech firms. Even high-skill roles are now subject to global strategy changes.</span></p>
<p><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>In the long term, the layoffs show how global tech companies are prioritising efficiency, automation, and AI, while reducing roles that no longer fit their future plans.</span></p>
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