Amazon cloud VP tells staff to 'use technology to simplify work' in email addressing layoffs

• Amazon cut 16,000 corporate jobs on Wednesday.
• AWS VP Greg Pearson encouraged employees to continue using technology to "simplify" work.
• Amazon CEO Andy Jassy previously said AI will ultimately reduce the company's workforce.

Amazon cut 16,000 more corporate jobs on Wednesday, and leadership wants the remaining staff to become even more efficient through technology.

In an email addressing the layoffs on Wednesday, Greg Pearson, VP of global sales at Amazon Web Services, urged employees to keep using technology to streamline their work.

"Moving forward, I encourage you to keep finding ways to use technology to simplify our work, amplify our impact, and focus on the activities that directly drive value for our customers," Pearson wrote in the email obtained by Business Insider. "And most importantly, take care of yourselves and each other."

Pearson's message mirrors Amazon's broader drive to run more efficiently as it reorganizes amid rapid advances in AI. Although the company initially linked the October layoffs to AI, CEO Andy Jassy later said they were driven more by cultural fit than by cost reductions or automation.

Jassy has previously said AI will ultimately reduce Amazon's workforce by driving efficiency gains. On Wednesday, Amazon's chief human resources officer, Beth Galetti, said in the layoff announcement that the company will continue hiring and investing in "strategic areas."

Wednesday's layoff was Amazon's second round of mass job cuts since October, when it axed 14,000 roles.

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