The Union of IT & ITES Employees (UNITE) has strongly condemned Amazon's latest round of mass retrenchments, describing them as illegal and a deliberate act against working people. The union warns that
the impending job cuts will hit Indian employees hard, with Chennai set to bear a particularly severe blow as a major hub for the company's corporate and technical operations.
Global Scale of Layoffs: Around 16,000 Jobs at risk
Reports indicate that Amazon is preparing to lay off approximately 16,000 employees globally starting this week, as part of a broader plan to eliminate up to 30,000 corporate roles by mid-2026. This follows the October 2025 layoffs, where around 14,000 positions were cut worldwide. The fresh round is expected to affect divisions such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), retail operations, Prime Video, and human resources.
India, where Amazon employs roughly 1,20,000 people across various roles, is anticipated to be among the hardest-hit regions. Previous rounds in India affected about 800–1,000 employees, including those in Chennai. Sources suggest that this time, the impact on Indian teams, particularly in cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai, could be significantly greater.
Severe Impact on Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Chennai serves as a key centre for Amazon's corporate and technical workforce in India. UNITE has highlighted that the announced retrenchments will have an immediate and devastating effect on employees and their families in Tamil Nadu. The union stresses that these layoffs come despite Amazon's continued high profitability and ongoing expansion in the country.
Union's Strong Condemnation and Accusations
UNITE has termed the job cuts an act of violence against workers, aimed at maximising profits through greater exploitation, replacing labour with automation, and intensifying workloads at the expense of employees' mental and physical health. The union argues that the retrenchments are not driven by any business crisis or economic downturn but by corporate greed.
Demands to Government
The union has urged the Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu to intervene without delay. UNITE's key demands include:
- Preventing the mass illegal retrenchment to protect the livelihoods of Amazon employees and their families.
- Immediately enforcing Industrial Standing Orders to ensure job security and welfare in the IT & ITES sector.
- Taking proactive steps to uphold constitutional values and safeguard workers' rights.
Amazon's mass layoffs follow TCS' restructuring last year, wherein over 12,000 jobs were cut, as part of restructuring.
