Amazon is conducting targeted layoffs within its Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) unit, confirming job cuts as it strategically refines its focus and continues substantial investments in AI infrastructure. While the company did not disclose the exact number of affected employees, these reductions are part of broader workforce adjustments following extensive hiring during the pandemic and a push to stay competitive in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
Amazon has confirmed it is laying off some employees within its artificial general intelligence (AGI) unit. This strategic move comes as the tech giant streamlines its workforce while simultaneously funneling substantial resources into its advanced artificial intelligence endeavors.
The company chose not to disclose the precise number of affected employees or which specific segments of its AGI organization were impacted. Amazon's AGI division is tasked with developing sophisticated AI models and also encompasses teams dedicated to silicon development and quantum computing initiatives.
An Amazon spokesperson elaborated on the decision in a statement to CNBC: "This is a fast-moving space, and we're sharpening our focus on the initiatives that matter most for customers, so we can move faster on what counts. That focus means some difficult decisions, including eliminating some roles within parts of our AGI organization, even as we continue to invest in the areas most important to our customers' future."
Reports, including posts on LinkedIn from affected individuals, suggest that AGI employees focused on model customization and post-training were among those impacted by the layoffs.
News of these job cuts was initially broken by Reuters.
These targeted reductions are part of a broader trend at Amazon, which has been rightsizing its workforce for several years following a significant hiring surge during the pandemic. The company has laid off over 30,000 employees since October, with smaller, ongoing rounds of job eliminations continuing in recent months. Concurrently, Amazon is committing enormous capital to build out its extensive AI infrastructure.
The AGI unit is a cornerstone of Amazon's overarching AI strategy, crucial for the company to maintain its competitive edge against industry leaders such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. Artificial general intelligence, by definition, refers to AI systems capable of performing at or surpassing human proficiency across a wide array of tasks.
In 2024, Amazon's AGI group introduced a suite of foundational models known as Nova. The unit's scope was further expanded last December when veteran cloud executive Peter DeSantis took over from Rohit Prasad as its head.
However, the AGI lab also saw a notable departure in February when David Luan, who joined Amazon in 2024 following the acquisition of his startup Adept, left the company.
Despite the layoffs, an Amazon spokesperson reiterated the company's commitment, stating that building large AI models has been ongoing for several years and "it remains one of the most important things we're working on."
In a recent interview with CNBC last month, DeSantis himself acknowledged that Amazon's current models "haven't been at the very frontier for the very largest, most demanding workloads." He expressed optimism, however, that Amazon is diligently working to enhance its models and aims to offer one of the "most capable intelligent models out there."
Amazon is set to release its second-quarter financial results next week. The company has projected capital expenditures for the current year to reach $200 billion, representing an increase of over 50% from 2025. To help finance this ambitious AI build-out, Amazon is raising tens of billions of dollars through debt issuance.
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