Amazon is eliminating 84 jobs across Washington state early next year, according to a regulatory filing, a move the company says is unrelated to the sweeping global layoffs announced in October that eliminated roughly 14,000 roles and sent shockwaves through the technology sector.
The reductions, disclosed in a filing under Washington's Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, will take effect between February and March 2026 and affect employees in Seattle, Bellevue and a small number of remote positions tied to the state. The cuts add to mounting unease among technology workers as large employers continue to recalibrate staffing amid slowing growth and rising pressure to contain costs.
According to the filing, the affected positions span a wide range of corporate functions, including software development engineers, program managers, recruiters, human resources specialists and user experience designers. Impacted employees are set to receive at least 89 days' notice before their roles are eliminated, in line with state requirements.
Amazon emphasized that the Washington cuts are part of what it described as a "routine process" of reviewing organizational needs within individual business units. The company said the move should not be viewed as an extension of the much larger workforce reduction announced in October 2025, which represented one of Amazon's biggest rounds of layoffs in years.
That earlier restructuring effort resulted in approximately 14,000 corporate job losses globally, with a heavy concentration in engineering, management and administrative roles. At the time, Amazon framed the cuts as a necessary step to streamline operations following years of rapid expansion and shifting consumer demand patterns.
Despite the company's efforts to draw a clear distinction between the two actions, labor analysts say the Washington reductions fit a broader pattern across the technology industry, where incremental job cuts are increasingly layered on top of previously announced restructuring plans. Even modest layoffs can have an outsized psychological impact in regional tech hubs such as Seattle, where Amazon remains one of the largest private employers.
The latest cuts come as Amazon executives continue to signal that internal efficiency and organizational simplification are central priorities. The company has repeatedly pointed to efforts to reduce management layers and reassess how work is distributed across teams, particularly as artificial intelligence tools begin to alter certain workflows.
Across the technology sector, similar adjustments are playing out. According to industry tracking of 2025 workforce reductions, major employers including Meta, IBM and Verizon have all announced job cuts over the past year, reflecting a broader shift away from pandemic-era hiring levels.
Key details from Amazon's Washington filing include:
- 84 total positions eliminated
- Locations: Seattle, Bellevue and select remote roles
- Timeline: February-March 2026
- Notice period: At least 89 days
