According to CNA and Inside, Amazon cut jobs within its artificial general intelligence (AGI) division on July 22, 2026, without disclosing how many employees were affected. The move follows Amazon's large-scale layoff of about 16,000 roles in January 2026 and comes after AGI leadership departures and a December 2025 reorganization under senior vice president Peter DeSantis. Amazon says affected U.S. employees will receive 90 days of pay and benefits.
How large were the AGI division cuts, and when did they happen?
Amazon cut positions within its artificial general intelligence (AGI) division on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, according to CNA. CNA reported that the move is "the latest in a series of smaller-scale downsizing actions since the company's large-scale layoff in January" (E1). Inside similarly reported that Amazon "cut some AGI division positions" that day, describing it as "the latest round of workforce adjustments targeting specific teams" following the January layoffs, and noted that Amazon did not disclose the number of employees affected (E7). Neither source provided a headcount figure for this specific round of cuts.
Why did Amazon say it made the cuts?
CNA quoted an Amazon spokesperson explaining the rationale behind the reduction: the company said it has "been building large AI models for years, and this remains one of our most important efforts," but that it is now "focusing on the initiatives that matter most to customers so we can move faster on the things that matter." The spokesperson said this focus "means we have to make some difficult decisions, including reducing certain roles within the AGI organization" (E2). Amazon did not attribute the decision to any external factor beyond this stated internal prioritization.
What organizational changes has the AGI division been through over the past year?
The cuts follow a string of leadership and structural changes. CNA reported that Rohit Prasad, the Amazon executive who led AGI, departed at the end of last year, and that David Luan, head of the AGI Lab, left the company in February (E3). CNA also reported that in December last year, the AGI business was folded into a larger organization led by senior vice president Peter DeSantis, which also covers chip development and quantum computing (E4). Inside corroborated this reorganization, reporting that in December 2025, Amazon merged AGI work into the division led by Peter DeSantis, which "also covers chip development and quantum computing" (E11) — the same restructuring described independently by both outlets.
What support are affected employees receiving?
CNA reported that employees under AGI Data Services vice president Adeeb Shanaa and AGI Information vice president Vishal Sharma said on online forums that they were affected by the layoffs, though "the full scope of the layoffs remains unclear" (E5). Separately, Inside reported that Amazon said affected U.S. employees would receive 90 days of pay and benefits, job transition assistance, and transitional medical coverage, and would be eligible for severance pay (E10).
Where do the AGI cuts fit within Amazon's broader layoff pattern?
The AGI reduction is the latest in a pattern that began earlier this year. CNA reported that Amazon cut a total of 16,000 positions company-wide in January 2026 (E6). Inside attributed this push to CEO Andy Jassy, reporting that he has been driving efforts to "simplify the organization and accelerate AI investment," and that the company "announced the layoff of approximately 16,000 employees" in January (E9). Both figures from CNA and Inside align at 16,000 roles.
| Event | Date | Scale |
|---|
| Company-wide layoffs | January 2026 | ~16,000 roles (E6, E9) |
| AGI division layoffs | July 22, 2026 | Not disclosed (E1, E7) |
| U.S. severance support | July 22, 2026 | 90 days of pay and benefits (E10) |
Despite the AGI cuts, where is Amazon still investing in AI?
Even as it trims the AGI division, Amazon continues to expand its broader AI product lineup. Inside reported that Amazon has been "actively expanding its AI product footprint," developing the Nova family of foundation models, offering generative AI services to customers through Amazon Web Services (AWS), and incorporating AI features into its retail and devices businesses (E8). This continued investment sits alongside the December 2025 move that placed AGI work under Peter DeSantis's organization, which also spans chip development and quantum computing (E11) — suggesting AI-related work has been consolidated rather than eliminated, even as the standalone AGI unit shrinks.
What this means
Taken together, the reporting from CNA and Inside describes a division that has been in flux for months before this week's cuts: both of AGI's top leaders — Rohit Prasad and David Luan — left between late last year and February, and the unit itself was absorbed into Peter DeSantis's larger organization in December 2025 (E3, E4, E11). The July 22 cuts arrive without a disclosed headcount (E1, E7), leaving the scale of this specific action less clear than January's company-wide reduction of 16,000 roles (E6, E9). At the same time, Amazon's spokesperson framed the AGI cuts as a matter of focus rather than retreat from AI (E2), a framing consistent with the company's continued build-out of Nova models and AWS generative AI services reported elsewhere (E8).