Amazon layoffs hit Kindle and Alexa teams amid 2025 tech cuts affecting over 61,000
Amazon has confirmed a fresh wave of layoffs, this time affecting staff in its Books division, including the Kindle and Goodreads teams. The cuts, which reportedly affect fewer than 100 employees, are part of the company’s ongoing efforts to streamline operations and reduce internal bureaucracy.
In a statement issued on Thursday, an Amazon spokesperson said: “As part of our ongoing work to make our teams and programs operate more efficiently, and to better align with our business roadmap, we’ve made the difficult decision to eliminate a small number of roles within the Books organisation.”
The layoffs were first reported by Business Insider and come on the heels of earlier cuts in Amazon’s devices and services units, including divisions focused on Alexa, the Wondery podcast network, retail stores, and internal communications.
Although the number of employees impacted in the latest round may seem modest, the move signals Amazon’s continued tightening under CEO Andy Jassy. Since assuming the role in 2021, Jassy has focused heavily on cutting costs and simplifying management layers. He has frequently pointed to what he describes as an “excess of bureaucracy” within the company.
The layoffs are part of a broader restructuring strategy, which has seen targeted reductions across different segments rather than sweeping company-wide cuts. According to a report from Layoffs.fyi, more than 61,220 tech workers have lost their jobs in 2025 so far, spread across 130 companies — a stark reminder of the ongoing volatility in the sector.
Unlike some rivals, Amazon has chosen a phased approach to job cuts, trimming small teams across different business verticals instead of issuing major layoff announcements all at once. In addition to Kindle and Goodreads, the company has already scaled back headcount in its Alexa voice assistant team and the Wondery podcast division, with reductions also seen in its brick-and-mortar stores and corporate communications teams.
While the latest cuts impact fewer than 100 workers, they have raised eyebrows due to the affected departments. Kindle remains one of Amazon’s flagship hardware offerings, and Goodreads has been an integral part of the company’s digital reading ecosystem since its acquisition in 2013. The inclusion of these teams in the layoff cycle suggests that no part of Amazon’s business is immune from restructuring.
Still, despite ongoing cuts, Amazon added around 4,000 jobs in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the previous quarter, according to its own disclosures. This highlights the complexity of its workforce strategy — balancing growth in key areas while trimming roles in others that no longer align with its strategic direction.
CEO Andy Jassy’s cost-cutting agenda has become a defining feature of his tenure. From cloud infrastructure to e-commerce, and now to media and devices, the company is being reshaped under his vision for a leaner Amazon.
His leadership has been marked by a series of calculated steps to decentralise decision-making, remove redundant layers of management, and refocus on long-term profitability rather than short-term expansion. The latest layoffs appear to be aligned with this broader goal of organisational efficiency.
At the same time, Amazon is not the only tech giant navigating layoffs in a challenging macroeconomic environment. High interest rates, reduced consumer spending, and the need to appease shareholders have pushed many companies into rounds of restructuring.
Shares of Amazon closed 0.3% higher on Thursday, though they remain down 5.6% for the year — reflecting broader investor uncertainty about tech stocks in 2025.
The Human Cost and Industry Impact
Though described as a “small number,” the cuts underscore the ongoing instability faced by tech workers globally. While Amazon may be focusing on internal streamlining, the broader tech sector continues to shed jobs at an alarming pace.
With over 61,000 jobs lost across the industry in just the first half of 2025, the impact is not only economic but also psychological. Workers, even in high-performing divisions like Alexa and Kindle, are discovering that innovation is no safeguard against redundancy.
The move has also sparked concern among authors and publishing professionals. Kindle and Goodreads are both widely used by independent writers, and job reductions in these areas could slow product updates, customer service, and platform development. For users and creators alike, any disruption in these services could have ripple effects far beyond Amazon’s Seattle headquarters.