On October 28, 2025, 14,000 Amazon employees discovered they'd lost their jobs via text message. CEO Andy Jassy claimed it wasn't about money or AI—it was about "culture." His 2024 compensation? Over $40 million.

In this episode we’re looking at the truth behind Amazon's massive layoffs, revealing how they’re using culture and innovation as an excuse. How can you claim to care about culture when your actions repeatedly tank your company's morale? And how can you claim “innovation” when you’re following the 40-year old playbook of Jack Welch - the CEO with the now-questionable legacy who made “downsizing” a household word.

To get to the truth, we look closely at the post-layoff words from Amazon execs themselves, as well as recent news articles about the devastating job eliminations, and we reconcile it all against facts about the tech industry and AI, middle managers, and startups - what they are, and what they’re not. Spoiler: Amazon isn’t even close to being a startup. Not even the “world’s largest” one.

And of course, we talk about what this means for employees of Corporate America - especially the ones who care about the people who actually do the work.

Resources & Links Mentioned

Books

• The Man Who Broke Capitalism by David Gelles -The definitive account of Jack Welch's destructive legacy at GE
• NSFW - A good manager’s guide to better feeling work in a toxic culture (by me)

Articles & Sources

• Amazon's Official Layoff Announcement
• Forbes: "AI Didn't Layoff 14,000 People, Amazon Did"
• CNN: David Solomon on AI and Jobs
• Fortune: Amazon Layoffs and Middle Management
• Amazon Employee Subreddit