Amazon to reportedly cut around 500 jobs at Romanian development centre in Iași

Amazon Development Center, the Romanian branch of US tech giant Amazon, is preparing to lay off over 500 employees from its Iași-based retail business services division, Romanian media reported on July 16, citing internal company sources.

The Iași centre, established in 2005, handles both IT research and development and business services across several domains, including retail operations and compliance. According to reports, the layoffs affect positions in the division supporting Amazon's global retail business.

In response to an inquiry from Ziarul Financiar, Amazon representatives stated that "the number of affected roles has not yet been decided," but confirmed that employees who may be impacted have been informed. A final decision will follow after further internal processes are completed.

The company's headcount at the Romanian centre peaked at over 4,200 in 2022, before falling to approximately 3,400 in 2024. The reported cuts suggest a continuation of Amazon's global cost-efficiency measures that have impacted several of its international locations in recent quarters.

Amazon has not confirmed an exact timeline for the layoffs or whether any departments outside the retail business services unit would be affected.

The Iași centre remains one of the company's key technology hubs in Eastern Europe, supporting a wide range of global operations.

The planned job reductions mark one of the most significant waves of layoffs in the Romanian IT services sector this year and come amid broader restructuring efforts by major technology firms seeking to optimise operations and reduce costs.

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