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Tech sector sees layoffs amid rising Al use
The Straits Times
|October 31, 2025
The axing of 14,000 roles announced by Amazon on Oct 28 comes amid increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools for routine tasks.
Here are some high-profile job cuts in the tech sector in 2025.
AMAZON - 14,000 CORPORATE JOB CUTS ANNOUNCED
The online retailer said on Oct 28 that it will slash 14,000 corporate jobs as the company's executive in charge of human resources (HR) Beth Galetti said Al represented the "most transformative technology" the company has seen since the internet.
Reuters first reported that Amazon was planning to cut as many as 30,000 employees globally.
The company's chief executive Andy Jassy had raised the potential of retrenchments in June, saying that the increased use of Al tools and agents would lead to corporate job cuts, as routine tasks are being automated.
According to Reuters, departments affected include devices, advertising, Prime Video, HR, operations, Alexa and Amazon's cloud computing unit Amazon Web Services.
Over the past two years, the company has been carrying out smaller-scale job cuts across divisions including books, devices and its Wondery podcast business.
META - ABOUT 3,600 JOBS CUT FROM FEB 10
Meta has laid off more than 100 people in its risk review organisation as it replaces manual reviews with automated systems, according to a New York Times report on Oct 23.
This story is from the October 31, 2025 edition of The Straits Times.
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