Amazon is reportedly laying off more than 17,000 workers, the largest job cut in the company's history

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is about to have 17,000 fewer employees to lead.

Mike Blake/Reuters

• Amazon is laying off more workers than expected, according to the Wall Street Journal. 
• The company planned to eliminate 10,000 jobs late last year. That number has now reportedly grown to 17,000.
• It would be the largest cut in Amazon's history and the largest group of tech workers laid off in recent months.

Amazon is reportedly planning to lay off the largest number of workers in the company's history. 

The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon's layoffs would affect more than 17,000 workers, significantly higher than the company's initial plans and the largest number of cutbacks at a major tech company in recent months.  

The company began its current round of layoffs in November after Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced that Amazon would eliminate roles in the company's Devices and Books businesses and offer voluntary exit offers for some staff in HR.

Late last year, the New York Times reported that Amazon planned to lay off 10,000 workers, or less than 3% of the company's corporate workforce, but the Journal reports that the number has since grown, and the e-commerce giant will make the rest of the cuts in the coming weeks. 

While most of the company's 1.5 million employees work in warehouses, the layoffs have so far been concentrated in Amazon's corporate groups, according to the Journal.  

Amazon did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

A wave of layoffs hit the tech industry late last year, with giants like Twitter, Meta, and Netflix all cutting thousands of workers. 

The trend has not yet shown signs of slowing down in 2023: Salesforce announced a 10% workforce reduction on Wednesday. 

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