Marking another step in its ongoing restructuring, Amazon has cut jobs in its artificial general intelligence (AGI) division, announcing on July 22 that it is eliminating some roles in the organization responsible for developing its Nova frontier AI models and related infrastructure. The company described the move as a difficult decision taken while sharpening its focus on initiatives that matter most for customers in a fast-moving AI landscape. Amazon did not disclose how many employees were affected or specify the full scope of teams impacted within the AGI organization. This decision comes amid growing discussions about the potential for £45 billion in annual productivity savings from AI adoption in various sectors.
These AGI cuts follow a January restructuring in which Amazon eliminated about 16,000 corporate positions as part of a broader effort to streamline operations and reduce bureaucracy. Since last October, the company has removed more than 30,000 roles across multiple divisions, including Alexa and other AI-related teams, through successive rounds of layoffs. The latest AGI reductions are characterized as smaller, targeted adjustments layered on top of those earlier workforce actions, signaling that 2026 remains a year of significant organizational change even as Amazon expands its AI ambitions.
The affected AGI organization encompasses data services and information-focused units, along with groups developing custom silicon and quantum computing capabilities that underpin Amazon’s advanced AI infrastructure. This division has been closely tied to the Nova family of foundation models, introduced to compete with leading frontier systems from companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.
Leadership of the AGI lab had previously been assigned to David Luan, who was brought in to guide long-term general intelligence research, while broader AI oversight has recently shifted as Rohit Prasad departs and senior executive Peter DeSantis assumes responsibility for a consolidated AI division.
Amazon has emphasized that the AGI layoffs do not signal a retreat from AI research, but rather a reallocation of resources toward projects judged to have the greatest impact on customers and business clients. The company continues to forecast sharply rising capital expenditures for AI infrastructure and has framed large-scale model development as one of its most important long-term initiatives.
In statements about the latest cuts, Amazon said it is sharpening its AI strategy around customer-facing tools and enterprise offerings, even as it trims certain roles within the AGI unit. The Nova team and related AGI research are described as central to Amazon’s future AI roadmap, suggesting that the division will remain a core engine for advanced model and agent development despite the staff reductions.
Amazon’s AGI group is tasked with building more general-purpose, autonomous AI systems, pursuing long-term research bets that aim to move beyond narrow, task-specific models toward agents that can learn, adapt, and operate with a high degree of independence.
For affected U.S. employees, Amazon has offered a support package that includes 90 days of pay, continued benefits, and time to seek new roles inside the company. The company has said these measures reflect its broader commitment to support employees through a period of transition as AI reshapes its workforce.
