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State Filings Show Engineers Took the Biggest Hit in Amazon’s October Layoffs

New disclosures indicate mid-level software developers bore a disproportionate share of the reductions.

Overview

  • Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification reports from New York, California, New Jersey, and Washington show nearly 40% of the 4,700-plus roles eliminated were engineering positions.
  • Mid-level SDE II employees were the most affected engineering cohort, according to the state filings.
  • An internal memo from executive Steve Boom detailed significant cuts across Amazon’s Irvine and San Diego game studios and a halt to much of its big-budget MMO development.
  • Beyond engineering, more than 500 product and program managers were cut and over 140 ad sales and marketing roles were eliminated in New York.
  • Amazon says the reductions aim to streamline layers and speed decisions as it reallocates resources to AI, and further job cuts are expected in January per prior reporting.