By T.L. Reigns

The Scoop Digital Newspaper: June 2025

Amazon is ramping up pressure on corporate employees, requiring thousands to relocate to specific hubs or risk losing their jobs, without severance. This relocation push is unfolding alongside a broader shift toward AI-driven workforce reduction, compounding stress for Amazon’s 350,000 corporate workers.

According to a report from Bloomberg, employees in departments across the U.S. are being quietly told, through one-on-one meetings and town halls, that they must move to offices in Seattle, Arlington (VA), or Washington, D.C. Those who decline must resign within 90 days. No mass emails. No company-wide announcements. Just quiet ultimatums.

One internal message revealed an employee was given 30 days to decide whether to move, followed by 60 days to complete the relocation or resign, with no severance offered. This policy has already led some workers to seek remote opportunities elsewhere, especially since Amazon now requires five-day in-office work weeks.

Why the Push?

Amazon claims this is not a cost-saving measure. Instead, the goal is to bring teams “closer together to be more effective.” However, it comes at the same time CEO Andy Jassy announced a significant shift toward AI-led operations, stating in a recent memo that Amazon will need fewer corporate workers in the future as AI continues to automate job functions.

The relocation pressure appears to be a quiet strategy for reducing headcount without triggering mass layoff backlash. It allows Amazon to thin its workforce while appearing focused on collaboration and productivity.

The Bigger Context

Since 2022, Amazon has laid off over 27,000 employees. Now, the next wave of cuts may not come through pink slips, but through policies like forced relocation and role redundancy due to AI.

Amazon is investing heavily in automation. In a February 2025 earnings call, the company revealed it would spend $105 billion in capital expenditures, with the majority going toward AI infrastructure. AI is already reshaping Amazon warehouses and customer service operations. According to insiders, the Alexa, Kindle, and Prime Video teams have experienced both layoffs and aggressive restructuring.

What It Means for Workers

Employees face a dual threat: AI job replacement and forced relocation. Those in roles involving routine tasks, customer service, HR, communications, or even software engineering, should expect more changes ahead.

Jassy’s advice? Learn AI tools, reskill into tech-forward roles, and consider joining teams building AI infrastructure. If your job can be automated, it probably will be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Scoop Digital Newspaper
thescoop@writeme.com