Amazon will permanently lay off 121 employees at locations in Bellevue, Seattle and Sumner, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) posted Monday, August 31, by the Washington State Employment Security Department. Separations are expected to begin October 1, 2026.
The state classifies the action as a permanent layoff, but its summary does not break down the affected positions by city or job title. While Bellevue and Seattle are home to Amazon’s corporate offices, the inclusion of Sumner — a Pierce County city where the company runs fulfillment operations — suggests the cuts may reach beyond office roles. Staff from the state’s Rapid Response team and local WorkSource centers will contact affected employees to help with the transition.
Amazon is one of downtown Bellevue’s largest employers, with a local workforce that has grown from about 2,790 to roughly 14,300 in recent years, and the company has said it expects to eventually employ about 25,000 people in the city. Even as the cuts continue, Amazon has moved forward with its Bellevue office projects, filing permits in January to restart work on Tower 1 at Bellevue 600, the remaining West Main towers and the 25-story Artise tower.
Monday’s notice is the latest in a string of Amazon reductions in Washington over the past year. In October 2025, the company filed a WARN notice covering 2,303 employees statewide as part of a global reduction of roughly 14,000 corporate roles. In early February, Amazon announced approximately 16,000 additional cuts, and a subsequent state filing listed 2,198 Washington positions, including 626 in Bellevue. In July, a smaller filing covered 57 tech workers in Seattle and Bellevue. The new notice brings Amazon’s announced Washington reductions to more than 4,600 since last fall.
The state filings are part of roughly 30,000 corporate job cuts at Amazon over the past year, the largest workforce reduction in the company’s history. Beth Galetti, Amazon’s Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology, has said the changes are meant to reduce layers and bureaucracy so the company can operate “like the world’s largest startup” as it invests heavily in artificial intelligence. In announcing earlier rounds, Amazon said most affected U.S. employees would have 90 days to seek another role internally, with severance pay, outplacement services and health benefits for those who leave the company.
The notice extends a wave of job cuts at companies with Bellevue offices. Last week, T-Mobile said it will lay off 77 workers across Washington, including in Bellevue. Earlier in August, TikTok said it will cut 75 jobs at Lincoln Square North, Salesforce announced 59 cuts across its Bellevue and Seattle offices, and Visa eliminated 70 downtown Bellevue jobs — with Visa’s separations also set to begin October 1. In June, Bungie cut 292 positions at its downtown Bellevue headquarters, and in May, Meta reduced its Bellevue workforce by 699 amid wider Washington layoffs.
