Amazon cuts 16,000 more global jobs while UPS slashes 30,000 positions

Amazon announced it is cutting 16,000 jobs worldwide as part of a restructuring effort to streamline its operations. The move marks the second major round of layoffs for the e-commerce giant in three months, following a previous reduction of 14,000 roles.

While Amazon employs roughly 1.5 million people globally, the company expects the majority of these new cuts to impact U.S.-based positions. Management stated the changes are intended to "strengthen the organization by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and eliminating bureaucracy."

The official announcement came hours after a draft email regarding the layoffs was accidentally leaked to employees at Amazon Web Services (AWS).

In a separate move, United Parcel Service (UPS) announced it will cut up to 30,000 jobs this year. The delivery company is working to reduce the volume of low-margin shipments it handles for Amazon.

Amazon remains the largest customer for UPS, but it has increasingly become a direct competitor in the logistics and delivery sector.

The concurrent workforce reductions at Amazon and UPS represent far more than routine cost-cutting; they signal a profound strategic recalibration within the U.S. technology and logistics sectors. These moves are the inevitable correction to the aggressive, pandemic-era hiring sprees that have now collided with a cooling growth environment.

CEO Andy Jassy’s warnings regarding the potential for Artificial Intelligence to displace white-collar roles have moved from theoretical projections to corporate policy. By trimming headcount while maintaining aggressive capital expenditure in "strategic areas," Amazon is signaling a decisive pivot toward automation. The company is clearly prioritizing long-term operational efficiency and AI integration over maintaining a massive human footprint.

Perhaps more telling is the shifting posture of UPS. The delivery giant’s proactive move to scale back its business with Amazon—labeling the relationship "unusually dilutive" to profit margins—reveals a significant fracture in the e-commerce ecosystem. UPS is no longer willing to play a supporting role to a titan that is simultaneously building a rival logistics network.

This decoupling heralds an era of intensified vertical competition. As major players move to secure end-to-end control of the supply chain—from the warehouse floor to the final mile—the traditional reliance on third-party partnerships is being replaced by a race for total infrastructure dominance.

The recent wave of layoffs at Big Tech giants like Amazon is hitting the Vietnamese-American community hard, particularly in hubs like Silicon Valley and Seattle. For many in our community, landing a role at a major tech firm has long been seen as the ultimate symbol of career stability and professional success. These mass job cuts are now fueling deep financial and professional anxiety, forcing many skilled professionals—including those on H-1B visas who face the added pressure of strict residency timelines—to navigate an increasingly cutthroat job market. From the professional circles of San Jose to the family-owned businesses in Little Saigon, the ripple effects of this downturn are challenging the long-held narrative of the "stable" tech career path.