Amazon braces for another major round of layoffs, 14,000 jobs at risk

Offshoring and Shifting Headcount

• Multiple commenters report a clear trend at Amazon and other big tech firms: US headcount is shrinking while India (and to a lesser extent Europe, Toronto, Dublin, Poland) grows.
• Some say Amazon is actively offering transfers to India, with senior IC pay there approaching Western European levels.
• FedRAMP and similar rules require some US-based, US-person roles, but much engineering and PM work can still be done abroad.
• This is seen as a leading indicator of more layoffs in high-cost US locations.

Immigration Policy, H1B, and Cost vs Talent

• Commenters argue new H1B fees and tariffs are backfiring, pushing high-skill workers and manufacturing out of the US, contributing to “reverse brain drain” and India investments.
• One view: claiming a “talent shortage” in a 170M+ US labor pool is just a cover for anti-American bias and cost-cutting.
• Counterview: firms simply chase best value; if H1B becomes costly, they hire the same people abroad instead.
• Debate over whether H1B was ever mainly about talent scarcity versus suppressing wages, with some immigrants feeling insulted by insinuations that imported workers are “subpar.”

Amazon Culture, Management Bloat, and Product Quality

• Several commenters claim Amazon is clogged with mid-level managers coasting on high comp, optimizing for “don’t get fired” rather than innovation, and especially weak in devices/TV/games.
• Others respond that these people were hired under Amazon’s own bar; if there’s a “career ladder problem,” it’s a management and hiring failure, not employee misconduct.
• Prime Video and other consumer apps are widely criticized as confusing and sales-driven; some attribute this to Amazon’s logistics/operations-first mindset.
• There’s disagreement over how pervasive “formal verification” and strong engineering rigor really are outside core AWS systems.

Layoff Scale, WARN, and Attrition Practices

• The cited WARN notice appears to describe a prior wave; commenters expect a new, larger wave with 90-day notice.
• Roles hit previously included recruiting and junior engineers; some expect more senior US roles to be targeted as work shifts overseas.
• Opinions split: 10% cuts over a year are described by some as within industry norms, by others as a big break from pre-2022 FAANG practice.
• Amazon’s ongoing “unregretted attrition” (informally ~5%/year) is described as a parallel mechanism that already pushes people out via PIPs, culture, and comp structure.

Unions, Leverage, and Offshorability

• Some argue this environment proves software engineers need unions; others counter that unions would have limited overhiring (and thus some past comp gains) and would accelerate use of contractors or offshore staff.
• A recurrent point: unions are most effective in non-offshorable work (plumbers, rail, etc.); for globally mobile software work, leverage is weaker and may backfire.
• Examples of fledgling tech unions in other countries are mentioned, alongside reports of past failures due to low interest and trust.

Creative Media, Games, and Strategic Fit

• Commenters argue Amazon’s data-driven, risk-averse culture is ill-suited to games and movies, pointing to game flops and a catalog filled with low-tier films.
• Others note several successful series on Prime Video and suggest many “original films” are cheap subscription bait rather than prestige projects.

Quality, AI Spending, and Macro Trends

• Some predict more AWS outages and product bugs as experienced staff are cut and work is offshored.
• Concern is raised that firing “bright people” to fund an AI arms race could backfire if an AI bubble pops.
• One data point mentioned: US tech job postings are down significantly vs pre-COVID, while India’s are sharply up, reinforcing the sense of a geographic shift in where tech work is done.