Amazon laid off employees in its artificial general intelligence division on July 22, the latest reduction at a company that has cut more than 30,000 staff since October 2025. Workers focused on model customization and post-training were among those let go from AGI, the group behind Amazon's Nova foundation models.
The cuts follow significant leadership departures. Rohit Prasad, a senior executive overseeing AGI, left at the end of 2025, and David Luan, head of the AGI Lab, departed in February 2026. Amazon had consolidated AGI operations under Senior Vice President Peter DeSantis in December 2025.
The job reductions contrast with Amazon's aggressive AI spending plans, as the company has forecast capital expenditures of $200 billion for 2026. Amazon also eliminated 16,000 positions company-wide in January.