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- Amazon layoffs hit employees in the group focusing on Artificial General Intelligence that everyone including Google, Microsoft and OpenAI say is one of their ‘biggest goals’
Amazon layoffs hit employees in the group focusing on Artificial General Intelligence that everyone including Google, Microsoft and OpenAI say is one of their ‘biggest goals’
TOI Tech Desk / TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Updated: Jul 23, 2026, 14:53 IST
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Amazon has laid off employees from its Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) team, a report by the news agency Reuters claims. This unit is responsible for developing AI models and technologies to create systems that can perform at or beyond human capability across a wide range of tasks. The cuts come even as the company describes AGI as one of its most important long-term priorities. This is an area that competitors including Google, Microsoft and OpenAI are also investing heavily in. Confirming the layoffs, Amazon told Reuters that it was reducing roles in parts of its AGI organisation while continuing to invest in AI development.”We’ve been building large AI models for several years, and it remains one of the most important things we’re working on. We’re sharpening our focus on the initiatives that matter most for customers, so we can move faster on what counts. That focus means some difficult decisions, including eliminating some roles within parts of our AGI organisation,” an Amazon spokesperson told Reuters, adding that the company was narrowing its focus to speed up work on selected initiatives. However, Amazon did not disclose how many employees were affected or specify which teams were impacted. Reuters first reported the layoffs.
Layoffs affect AGI teams as Amazon restructures AI efforts
According to employees posting on LinkedIn and online forums, workers involved in model customisation, post-training and other AGI-related functions were among those laid off. Reuters reported that employees under Adeeb Shanaa, vice president of AGI data services, and Vishal Sharma, vice president of AGI information, were also affected.The AGI organisation is a key part of Amazon’s AI strategy and also includes teams working on silicon development and quantum computing. Artificial General Intelligence refers to hypothetical AI systems capable of learning, reasoning and performing most tasks at or above human level without task-specific programming.The latest layoffs follow leadership changes within Amazon’s AI division. Rohit Prasad, who previously oversaw AGI, left the company at the end of 2025, while David Luan, head of Amazon’s AGI Lab, departed in February after joining through Amazon’s acquisition of AI startup Adept. In December, Amazon consolidated its AGI work under senior vice president Peter DeSantis.
Job cuts come despite continued AI investment
Amazon has continued reducing its workforce following broader layoffs in recent years. The company cut around 16,000 jobs in January and has eliminated more than 30,000 positions since October 2022 through multiple rounds of workforce reductions.At the same time, Amazon continues to increase spending on AI infrastructure. The company has forecast capital expenditures of $200 billion this year, more than 50% higher than in 2025, while also raising tens of billions of dollars in debt to support its AI expansion.The AGI division released Amazon’s Nova family of foundation AI models in 2024. Speaking to CNBC last month, Peter DeSantis acknowledged that Amazon’s models “haven’t been at the very frontier for the very largest, most demanding workloads.”He added that Amazon is continuing development and hopes to have one of the “most capable intelligent models out there.”Amazon is scheduled to report its second-quarter financial results next week.Get the latest technology news and updates. Download the TOI App.
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