Pink slips started going out this week at tech giant Amazon, the latest in a wave of late-year layoffs.

On Tuesday, Amazon laid off 14,000 corporate workers, about 4% of its worker population. Reuters reports that the move is part of a larger reduction that could affect 30,000 employees, slashing the corporate workforce by 10%.

While AI is often cited in recent headlines as the culprit behind workforce reductions, a public memo from Amazon leadership instead pointed to successful efforts at “reducing layers, increasing ownership and helping reduce bureaucracy.”

That’s not to say Amazon isn’t acknowledging AI as a factor in the layoffs, however. As tech creates demand for businesses to move more quickly, Amazon is “convinced that we need to be organized more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership, to move as quickly as possible for our customers and business,” wrote Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience and technology at Amazon.

Amazon layoffs: the latest example of a ‘talent remix’?

The Amazon layoffs likely reflect a “strategic ‘talent remix,’ ” say researchers at Gartner. It appears the organization is “reallocating resources to high-priority business areas, rather than [the layoffs] directly resulting from AI-driven productivity gains.”

The news comes as UPS this week also announced it has already cut 48,000 jobs this year, and Target unveiled plans to eliminate 1,800 corporate roles.

Despite the high-profile nature of the layoffs, Gartner research found that less than 1% of the cuts it tracked in the first half of this year were directly related to AI taking over jobs.

“AI is not yet ready to replace the large majority of jobs,” researchers say. “In most cases, staffing shifts appear to be a byproduct of freeing up capital expenditures for investments and not a direct consequence of AI replacing human roles.”

Regardless of how influential AI is over potential layoffs, HR has a critical part play in the process, says Erin DeVito, general manager North America at experiential learning company Impact International.

“HR’s role is to keep the human conversation alive, ensuring efficiency doesn’t come at the cost of engagement, capability and culture,” DeVito says. “Technology can scale output, but people drive learning, creativity and trust—the things that sustain an organization through disruption for the long game.”

Playing the long game for talent

Emphasizing the long view will be essential for HR leaders if workforce reductions are on the horizon. Gartner’s research finds that 65% of organizations have undertaken cost-cutting efforts in recent years; yet just 11% actually sustained lower costs through a third year.

“The companies that achieve both their cost targets and sustain growth,” they say, “balance cost savings with optimizing for efficiency in service delivery and business impact.”

DeVito urges HR to ask the important questions: If organizations say they want to operate leaner and faster, question why.

“If it’s truly about creating a better experience for customers, then the experience inside our organizations must match,” she says.

Push leaders to think about the contextual issues involved in cost and headcount discussions, DeVito says:

• What new skills will automation create demand for?
• How do we reimagine roles, not just remove them?
• How do we help people transition and stay connected to purpose?

Organizations shouldn’t just be planning for smaller workforces, she adds, but talent populations that will be fundamentally different.

“HR’s value lies in helping the organization design for that difference, not just survive it,” she says.

Will Amazon layoffs create more fear?

Despite the Amazon layoffs not being directly attributed to AI, employee fears around job replacement will likely persist.

HR can help leadership lean into transparency and communication to navigate the “contagion effect of layoffs,” according to Gartner.

“Being clear about what your organization is trying to achieve with AI shows respect for your workforce, compassion for their anxieties and clarity about the near-term future,” Gartner says.

If that future does involve workforce reductions, DeVito adds, organizations need to take a measured approach and avoid moving too quickly, particularly if automation and AI play a role.

“Many outcomes may still depend on practical know-how, judgement and relationships. If those humans leave, capability gaps could appear that are costly and slow to rebuild,” she says. This situation could also signal to those remaining that they are expendable—eroding trust and morale.

Without this people-centric focus in workforce planning, DeVito says, “the organization may trade long-term health for short-term gain—a choice that rarely serves its future needs.”