Amazon to Cut 30,000 Jobs While Rivals Expand One-Hour Delivery
Amazon confirmed plans to eliminate 30,000 jobs across AWS, retail, Prime Video and human resources as it integrates new AI tools, after Meta cut 8,000 positions and Microsoft offered 7% buyouts. Concurrently, Sam’s Club—part of Walmart—launched a one-hour delivery service from 600+ stores, completing 65,000 orders in 55 minutes on average.
1. AI-Driven Workforce Reduction
In early 2026, Amazon outlined plans to eliminate 30,000 positions across AWS, retail, Prime Video and human resources, attributing the reduction to its strategic shift toward AI-driven operations. The company expects these cuts to streamline costs and accelerate deployment of AI tools across its e-commerce and cloud platforms.
2. Delivery Speed Competition
On April 2, Sam’s Club rolled out a one-hour delivery option from over 600 locations, fulfilling nearly 65,000 orders in an average of 55 minutes, with the fastest in under 12 minutes. This move by Walmart’s membership division intensifies pressure on Amazon’s Prime delivery network to maintain its same-day and two-day service edge.
3. Cloud AI Rivalry
The debut of OpenAI’s GPT-5.5, achieving 82.7% accuracy on coding benchmarks like Terminal-Bench 2.0 and offering new API pricing tiers, underscores mounting demand for advanced generative AI. This innovation challenges AWS’s AI offerings, potentially influencing Amazon’s positioning in cloud-based AI services and revenue growth in that segment.