Amazon’s retail division is implementing a significant hiring freeze for 2025, a strategic move aimed at maintaining flat headcount operating expenses compared to the previous year. This decision, revealed through internal communications, signals a big shift towards a budget-based hiring model, empowering managers with greater financial autonomy while intensifying scrutiny on all new corporate hires.
Under the new directives, Amazon’s retail sector will pivot from traditional headcount targets to a more stringent, budget-driven approach. This means that while hiring has not ceased entirely, any new corporate positions will require strong supporting reasons and undergo intense scrutiny. Managers will now operate within predetermined spending limits for their teams.
The hiring budget freeze consists of corporate roles across Amazon’s vast retail operations, including its online marketplace, intricate logistics networks and the expanding Fresh grocery division. However, this policy does not extend to Amazon’s critical warehouse workers or employees within its cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services (AWS).
This cost-cutting measure is a continuation of a broader strategic overhaul under CEO Andy Jassy. Over the last two years, Amazon has eliminated at least 27,000 jobs and also involved streamlining management layers and revamping compensation structures. In 2024, Amazon reported a remarkable $59 billion in profit, nearly doubling its performance from the preceding year. The company’s workforce, which surged to 1.6 million employees between 2019 and 2021, has since seen a modest decline to 1.55 million.
