Amazon announced job cuts in its artificial general intelligence (AGI) unit on July 22, 2026, as part of several smaller layoffs following a major reduction in January 2026 [1, 2, 3]. The company did not disclose the exact number of jobs cut in the latest round [1, 2, 3].
The AGI group at Amazon, which works on building large AI models, silicon development, and quantum computing, has seen leadership changes recently. Senior executives Rohit Prasad left at the end of 2025, David Luan departed in February 2026, and Peter DeSantis took over the AGI division in December 2025 [1, 2, 4, 5, 6]. DeSantis consolidated AGI work under his leadership, including the silicon and quantum computing teams [1, 4]. Employees under VP Adeeb Shanaa (AGI data services) and VP Vishal Sharma (AGI information) were impacted by the cuts [1, 4, 5, 6].
Amazon made a large company-wide cut of about 16,000 jobs in January 2026 and has laid off more than 30,000 globally since October 2025 [1, 4, 5, 6]. Despite the reductions, the company is sharply focused on advancing AI capabilities. An Amazon spokesperson said, "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" [1].
Amazon is also boosting capital expenditures for 2026 to around $200 billion, a more than 50% increase over 2025, supported by raised debt to fund AI infrastructure development [2, 6]. Peter DeSantis acknowledged Amazon's AGI models are not yet at the frontier for the most demanding workloads but said the company is working to improve, aiming "to have one of the most capable intelligent models out there" [2].
Amazon continues to view large AI model development and related technologies as top priorities even amid workforce changes [1, 2, 4, 6]. The company’s next steps include continuing investment in AI infrastructure and refining its AGI work under Peter DeSantis’s leadership, with the latest actions on July 22 reflecting its focus to accelerate progress on key AI initiatives [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
