As we make our way to AWS re:Invent today in Las Vegas, these are some of the questions on our mind: Will Amazon CEO Andy Jassy make another appearance? Will this, in fact, be Amazon CTO Werner Vogels’ last big closing keynote at the event? Will we be able to line up early enough to score a seat inside the special Acquired podcast recording Thursday morning? 

And how many million enterprise AI billboards will we see between the airport and the Venetian?

But more to the point for Amazon, the company faces a critical test this week: showing that its heavy artificial intelligence investments can pay off as Microsoft and Google gain ground in AI and the cloud.

A year after the Seattle company unveiled its in-house Nova AI foundation models, the expansion into agentic AI will be the central theme as Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman takes the stage Tuesday morning for the opening keynote at the company’s annual cloud conference.

The stakes are big, for both the short and long term. AWS accounts for a fifth of Amazon’s sales and more than half of its profits in many quarters, and all the major cloud platforms are competing head-to-head in AI as the next big driver of growth.

With much of the tech world focused on the AI chip race, the conference will be closely watched across the industry for news of the latest advances in Amazon’s in-house Trainium AI chips. 

But even as the markets and outside observers focus on AI, we’ve learned from covering this event over the years that many AWS customers still care just as much or more about advances in the fundamental building blocks of storage, compute and database services.

Amazon gave a hint of its focus in early announcements from the conference:

• The company announced a wave of updates for Amazon Connect, its cloud-based contact center service, adding agents that can independently solve customer problems, beyond routing calls. Amazon Connect recently crossed $1 billion in annual revenue.
• In an evolution of the cloud competition, AWS announced a new multicloud networking product with Google Cloud, which lets customers set up private, high-speed connections between the rival platforms, with an open specification that other providers can adopt. 
• AWS Marketplace is adding AI-powered search and flexible pricing models to help customers piece together AI solutions from multiple vendors.

Beyond the product news, AWS is making a concerted effort to show that the AI boom isn’t just for the big platforms. In a pitch to consultants and integrators at the event, the company released new research from Omdia, commissioned by Amazon, claiming that partners can generate more than $7 in services revenue for every dollar of AWS technology sold.

Along with that research, AWS launched a new “Agentic AI” competency program for partners, designed to recognize firms building autonomous systems rather than simple chatbots.

Garman’s keynote begins at 8 a.m. PT Tuesday, with a dedicated agentic AI keynote from VP Swami Sivasubramanian on Wednesday, an infrastructure keynote on Thursday morning, and Vogels’ aforementioned potential swan song on Thursday afternoon. 

Stay tuned to GeekWire for coverage, assuming we make it to the Strip!

Amazon this morning offered the first official glimpse of a new “store within a store” concept it’s testing to bring name-brand items to Whole Foods Market without sullying the grocer’s signature organic vibe.

The approach, first reported a few days ago by The Wall Street Journal, puts screens on the shelves that let shoppers scan a QR code to browse a wider Amazon selection in the app — picking items like Kraft Mac & Cheese, Tide Pods, or Pepsi for quick pickup at a nearby counter after they check out.

Behind the scenes, a 10,000-square-foot automated “micro-fulfillment center” inside the store uses robots to pull items from Amazon’s expanded inventory: popular snacks, cleaning supplies, frozen foods, personal care products, etc.

The system, built on technology from Silicon Valley startup Fulfil, prepares orders within minutes so they’re ready for customers by the time they finish shopping.

It’s one of the tightest integrations between Amazon and Whole Foods since the tech giant bought the grocer for $13.7 billion in 2017. Under Whole Foods CEO Jason Buechel, who now oversees all of Amazon’s grocery stores, the company is looking to bring more of its tech expertise to a brand known for its strict ingredient standards and natural-foods identity.

Amazon has been trying to figure out the broader grocery business for 18 years, dating back to the original launch of Amazon Fresh delivery in the Seattle area in 2007. Thin margins and huge volumes make grocery one of the toughest and most tantalizing segments in retail.

The company has reported recent success with an initiative that offers perishable groceries for free same-day delivery as part of a unified cart when people check out on Amazon.com. CEO Andy Jassy called this approach a “game changer” on the company’s earnings call last week.

As part of its Whole Foods announcement this morning, Amazon confirmed that it’s testing the new concept at a store in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., and said for the first time that it plans to expand the approach to additional Whole Foods locations after gathering feedback.

It’s not the only concept currently in testing. The Wall Street Journal also reported on a separate trial in Chicago where Amazon replaced a coffee shop in the flagship Whole Foods’ lobby with a 3,800-square-foot “Amazon Grocery” kiosk to sell brands like Doritos and Chips Ahoy.

This week on the GeekWire Podcast: Why is Amazon laying off 14,000 people in the middle of an AI boom — and is it really a boom at all? We dig into the contradiction at the heart of Seattle’s tech scene, discussing Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s “world’s largest startup” rationale and what it says about the company’s culture and strategy. And we debate whether AI progress represents true transformation or the familiar signs of a tech bubble in the making.

Then we examine the vision of Cascadia high-speed rail — the ambitious plan to connect Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, B.C., by bullet train. Is it the regional infrastructure needed to power the Pacific Northwest’s next chapter, or an expensive dream looking for a purpose?

With GeekWire co-founders John Cook and Todd Bishop

Related headlines from the week

Amazon layoffs

• Amazon confirms 14,000 job cuts, says push for ‘efficiency gains’ will continue into 2026
• A tale of two Seattles in the age of AI: Harsh realities and new hope for the tech community
• Filing: Amazon cuts more than 2,300 jobs in Washington state as part of broader layoffs
• Amazon layoffs hit software engineers hardest in Washington
• Amazon layoffs reaction: ‘Thought I was a top performer but guess I’m expendable’
• Amazon CEO says massive corporate layoffs were about agility — not AI or cost-cutting

Amazon earnings

• Amazon stock soars 11% after topping Q3 estimates with $180B in revenue, $21B in profits
• Amazon’s Anthropic investment boosts its quarterly profits by $9.5B
• ‘Big Beautiful’ tax benefit: Amazon and other tech giants reap the rewards of new law, for now

Microsoft Azure, earnings and OpenAI

• Microsoft’s Azure reports cloud outage, disrupting global customers including Alaska Airlines
• Microsoft beats expectations, reports nearly $35B in Q1 capital spending amid Azure outage
• Microsoft gets 27% stake in OpenAI, and a $250B Azure commitment

Seattle-Portland-Vancouver

• Slowly but surely, high-speed rail backers believe Cascadia mega-project will become a reality
• Cascadia’s AI paradox: A world-leading opportunity threatened by rising costs and a talent crunch
• The ‘enormous barrier’ that threatens economic growth in the Pacific Northwest
• Beta’s unique electric airplane flies into Seattle to wow state officials and aviation experts

Subscribe to GeekWire in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says the company’s latest big round of layoffs — about 14,000 corporate jobs — wasn’t triggered by financial strain or artificial intelligence replacing workers, but rather a push to stay nimble.

Speaking with analysts on Amazon’s quarterly earnings call Thursday, Jassy said the decision stemmed from a belief that the company had grown too big and too layered.

“The announcement that we made a few days ago was not really financially driven, and it’s not even really AI-driven — not right now, at least,” he said. “Really, it’s culture.”

Jassy’s comments are his first public explanation of the layoffs, which reportedly could ultimately total as many as 30,000 people — and would be the largest workforce reduction in Amazon’s history.

The news this week prompted speculation that the cuts were tied to automation or AI-related restructuring. Earlier this year, Jassy wrote in a memo to employees that he expected Amazon’s total corporate workforce to shrink over time due to efficiency gains from AI.

But his comments Thursday framed the layoffs as a cultural reset aimed at keeping the company fast-moving amid what he called “the technology transformation happening right now.”

Jassy, who succeeded founder Jeff Bezos as CEO in mid-2021, has pushed to reduce management layers and eliminate bureaucracy inside the company. Amazon’s corporate headcount tripled between 2017 and 2022, according to The Information, before the company adopted a more cautious hiring approach.

Bloomberg News reported this week that Jassy has told colleagues parts of the company remain “unwieldy” despite efforts to streamline operations — including significant layoffs in 2023 when Amazon cut 27,000 corporate workers in multiple stages. 

On Thursday’s call, Jassy said Amazon’s rapid growth led to extra layers of management that slowed decision-making.

“When that happens, sometimes without realizing it, you can weaken the ownership of the people that you have who are doing the actual work and who own most of the two-way door decisions — the ones that should be made quickly and right at the front line,” Jassy said, using a phrase popularized by Bezos to help determine how much thought and planning to put into big and small decisions.

The layoffs, he said, are meant to restore the kind of ownership and agility that defined Amazon’s early years.

“We are committed to operating like the world’s largest startup,” Jassy said, repeating a line he’s used recently.

Given the “transformation” he described happening across the business world, Jassy said it’s more important than ever to be lean, flat, and fast-moving. “That’s what we’re going to do,” he said.

Jassy’s comments came as Amazon reported quarterly revenue of $180.2 billion, up 13% year-over-year, with AWS revenue growth accelerating to 20% — its fastest pace since 2022.

Amazon said it took a $1.8 billion severance-related charge in the quarter related to the layoffs.

Amazon joins other tech giants including Microsoft that have trimmed headcount this year while investing heavily in AI infrastructure.

Related coverage:

• Amazon layoffs hit software engineers hardest in Washington
• Amazon stock soars 11% after topping Q3 estimates with $180B in revenue, $21B in profits

Amazon confirmed Tuesday that it is cutting about 14,000 corporate jobs, citing a need to reduce bureaucracy and become more efficient in the new era of artificial intelligence.

In a message to employees, posted on the company’s website, Amazon human resources chief Beth Galetti signaled that additional cutbacks are expected to take place into 2026, while indicating that the company will also continue to hire in key strategic areas.

Reuters reported Monday that the number of layoffs could ultimately total as many as 30,000 people, which is still a possibility as the cutbacks continue into next year. At that scale, the overall number of job cuts could eventually be the largest in Amazon’s history, exceeding the 27,000 positions that the company eliminated in 2023 across multiple rounds of layoffs.

“This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet, and it’s enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before,” wrote Galetti, senior vice president of People Experience and Technology.

The goal is “to be organized more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership, to move as quickly as possible for our customers and business,” she explained.

Galetti wrote that the company is “shifting resources to ensure we’re investing in our biggest bets and what matters most to our customers’ current and future needs” — indicating that layoff decisions are based whether teams and roles align with the company’s direction.

Amazon’s corporate workforce numbered around 350,000 people in early 2023, the last time the company provided a public number. At that scale, the initial reduction of 14,000 represents about 4% of Amazon’s corporate workforce. However, the number is a much smaller fraction of its overall workforce of 1.55 million people, which includes workers in its warehouses.

Cuts are expected across multiple regions and countries, but they are likely to hit hard in the Seattle region, home to the company’s first headquarters and its largest corporate workforce. The region has already felt the impact of major layoffs by Microsoft and others, as companies adjust to the uncertain economy and accelerate investments in AI-driven automation.

Many displaced tech workers here have found job searches slower and more competitive than in previous cycles in which the tech sector was more insulated than other industries.

The cuts at Amazon are the latest pullback after a pandemic-era hiring spree. They come two days before the company’s third quarter earnings report. Amazon and other cloud giants have been pouring billions into capital expenses to boost AI capacity. Cutting jobs is one way of showing operating-expense discipline to Wall Street.

In a memo to employees in June, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy wrote that he expected Amazon’s total corporate workforce to get smaller over time as a result of efficiency gains from AI.

Jassy took over as Amazon CEO from founder Jeff Bezos in mid-2021. In recent years he has been pushing to reduce management layers and eliminate bureaucracy inside the company, saying he wants Amazon to operate like the “world’s largest startup.” 

Bloomberg News reported this week that Jassy has told colleagues that parts of the company remain “unwieldy” despite the 2023 layoffs and other efforts to streamline operations. 

As part of its report, Reuters cited sources saying the magnitude of the cuts is also a result of Amazon’s strict return-to-office policy failing to cause enough employees to quit voluntarily. Amazon brought workers back five days a week earlier this year.

Impacted teams and people will be notified of the layoffs today, Galetti wrote.

Amazon is offering most impacted employees 90 days to find a new role internally, though the timing may vary based on local laws, according to the message. Those who do not find a new position at Amazon or choose to leave will be offered severance pay, outplacement services, health insurance benefits, and other forms of support.