Amazon, UPS Slash Desk Jobs: AI Is Coming For Your Manager
Amazon and UPS have announced significant layoffs, with Amazon cutting up to 30,000 desk jobs and UPS reducing its workforce by 48,000. These job cuts are driven by the adoption of AI technologies that automate repetitive tasks, leading to increased efficiency and cost savings. Amazon aims to automate 75% of its fulfillment processes by 2033, while UPS's cuts reflect a strategic transformation to enhance profitability amid market challenges. This trend raises concerns about the future of white-collar employment as companies prioritize AI-driven operations.
Major corporations including Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) have recently announced significant layoffs, highlighting an accelerated shift toward AI-driven automation that is transforming corporate structures.
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Amazon Job Cuts
On Monday, it was reported that Amazon is in the midst of slashing thousands of desk jobs, targeting up to 30,000 positions, with a confirmed 14,000 layoffs already this year.
Amazon's job cuts were primarily among corporate and mid-level management staff. The company has openly acknowledged that the layoffs are being driven by efficiency gains from new AI technologies capable of handling many repetitive or analytical tasks once managed by teams of professionals.
CEO Andy Jassy has explicitly tied the workforce reduction to the company's rapid adoption of AI. Amazon has plans to automate as much as 75% of its fulfillment processes by 2033 and potentially replace or avoid hiring hundreds of thousands of roles across the next decade.
UPS Job Cuts
On Tuesday, UPS said that it has reduced its workforce by 48,000 roles this year, surpassing its earlier estimate of 20,000 job cuts. The company said that it eliminated an additional 14,000 positions from its management ranks.
The cuts are part of "the most significant strategic transformation" in UPS's history and reflect mounting pressure on the company to increase profitability and streamline operations in response to falling revenues and market headwinds.
Managers Getting the Axe
Companies are finding that repetitive administrative tasks, usually performed by employees in management roles, are easily replaced by artificial intelligence.
The cost-savings and increases in productivity are too good to be ignored and middle-management roles are being eliminated.
While the shift promises shareholder value and corporate efficiencies, it raises questions about the future of white-collar employment and the evolving nature of managerial work in the era of AI.
Below is a list of companies — in addition to Amazon and UPS — that have announced layoffs in the past week alone:
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP – made 5,600 cuts in fiscal 2025
- Chegg, Inc. (NYSE:CHGG) – cutting 45% of workforce
- Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) – cutting 1,800 roles (8% of corporate team)
- Paramount Skydance Corp. (NASDAQ:PSKY) – cutting 2,000 jobs
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