According to CNBC, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced the company is laying off about 14,000 corporate employees with more cuts expected soon. During a September event in Seattle, Jassy told thousands of sellers he wants Amazon to operate like the “world’s largest startup” by removing bureaucracy and flattening the organization. The layoffs come as part of Jassy’s broader cultural overhaul since taking over from Jeff Bezos in 2021, which includes pushing employees to do more with less and a hard pivot back to in-office work. During last week’s earnings call, Jassy repeated the same “world’s largest startup” line when asked about the job cuts, emphasizing his commitment to “removing layers” across the company.
The startup fantasy vs corporate reality
Here’s the thing about calling a 1.5 million employee company a “startup” – it’s basically corporate speak for “we’re going to cut costs while expecting more from fewer people.” Jassy keeps using this phrase like it’s some magical incantation that will make mass layoffs sound innovative rather than what they are: traditional corporate restructuring.
And let’s be real – startups don’t typically fire 14,000 people while telling everyone to act like they’re in a garage somewhere. Startups are about building and hiring, not cutting and “removing layers.” The cognitive dissonance here is pretty staggering for employees who just saw their colleagues get shown the door.
The cultural whiplash effect
So what happens to morale when your CEO says one thing while doing another? You get what Amazon employees are experiencing right now – total whiplash. Jassy talks about high ownership and empowerment while simultaneously telling people they need to do more with less resources and fewer teammates.
Remember that whole “Day 1” philosophy Bezos famously championed? Well, Day 1 companies don’t typically have multiple rounds of mass layoffs while their CEO repeats the same talking points. The cultural shift from Bezos’s relentless growth focus to Jassy’s efficiency obsession is creating some serious tension in Seattle.
Where does Amazon go from here?
Jassy’s playing a dangerous game here. Cutting costs while trying to maintain innovation is like trying to drive with the parking brake on. Amazon’s facing pressure from all sides – AWS is losing ground to Microsoft and Google, retail faces renewed competition, and their moonshot projects keep getting scaled back.
But here’s the real question: can you actually operate like a startup when you’re the definition of an established corporate giant? Probably not. The “world’s largest startup” line sounds great in earnings calls, but the reality for employees is more work, less security, and constant uncertainty. That doesn’t sound very startup-like to me.
