The AI-related layoffs at Amazon and some other firms reflect a "hollowing out of middle-skilled workers," Lynn Wu, a professor of operations, information and decisions at the University of Pennsylvania, told ABC News.

The tech giant axed 14,000 roles, and more layoffs could be coming in 2026. Employees might wonder why it's necessary, and the company's mixed messages aren't helping.

Beth Galetti, a senior vice president at Amazon, defended the 14,000 cuts to staff in a Tuesday memo. She wrote that while the company expects “to continue hiring in key strategic areas,” the layoffs are part of an ongoing push to reduce layers and bureaucracy and to shift resources toward the company’s “biggest bets.”

Business Insider's reporters walk through the big layoffs at Amazon, why the cuts came, and who could be next.

Amazon's 14,000-person layoffs earlier this week weren't necessarily driven by finances or AI, CEO Andy Jassy said during the company's earnings call on Thursday. Instead, the motivation behind cutting the workforce was "culture,

Amazon is laying off 2,303 Washington-based employees, with 1,887 in Seattle alone. It's a move projected to deal a multimillion-dollar blow to the city’s tax revenues.

Amazon said on Oct. 28 that it is cutting thousands of corporate jobs. What does this mean for its Floridian employees?

The move comes amid similar cuts at Meta and Applied Materials, signaling a broader tech industry shift toward automation and AI investment.