The unions represented at Amazon confirmed on Wednesday that the employment regulation plan (ERE) that the company proposed for its Barcelona offices will finally affect fewer workers than initially planned: after weeks of negotiation, the adjustment has been reduced from the 978 layoffs announced at first to a total of 791 employees in the Catalan capital. In addition to this figure, 129 workers from the Madrid offices will also be included in the process.
The cutback in Spain is part of a broader restructuring plan that Amazon is executing at international level and which contemplates the departure of some 14,000 employees worldwide. The impact is concentrated on corporate staff, i.e., workers in offices and administrative areas, in a context marked by the automation of processes and the growing incorporation of tools based on artificial intelligence.
An agreement with voluntary departures and outplacements
During the meetings held between the company and the union representatives, an agreement was reached which introduces several improvements with respect to the initial approach. Among them, it has been agreed that departures will be voluntary and that groups considered to be especially protected may opt to remain in the company.
In turn, the agreement provides for the outplacement of more than a hundred employees in other companies of the Amazon group, a measure aimed at reducing the social impact of the adjustment. In economic terms, the affected workers will receive a severance payment of 38 days per year worked, with a maximum of 24 monthly payments, in addition to a guaranteed minimum compensation of 7,000 euros.
It has also been agreed to grant paid leave until February 28, which will allow employees to be eligible to cash in company shares.
Comisiones Obreras (CCOO), the majority union at the negotiating table, has positively assessed the outcome of the process, stressing that it has been possible to reduce the number of employees affected and improve the conditions for leaving the company.
A macro adjustment at a time of good results
The layoffs in Barcelona and Madrid are part of Amazon’s global strategy to reduce its corporate structure. The multinational has approximately 350,000 employees dedicated to administrative functions within a total workforce of around 1.5 million people worldwide.
The decision was announced last October by Beth Galetti, the company’s Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology. As she explained at the time, the objective of the adjustment is to simplify the internal organization, reduce bureaucracy and free up resources to be allocated to areas considered strategic for the future of the business.
Amazon has assured that it will offer support to affected employees, including a period of up to 90 days to seek new opportunities within the company, with priority given to internal candidates for open positions in other departments.
Profits up despite cutbacks
The announcement of the layoff plan coincided with the release of Amazon’s third quarter 2025 financial results, in which Amazon once again posted record figures. Between July and September, the company posted a net profit of more than €18.2 billion, an increase of more than 38% over the same period last year.
Quarterly revenue also showed strong growth, reaching nearly 155 billion euros. This advance was driven by both higher product sales and the solid performance of the services business, especially subscriptions such as Amazon Prime or digital content platforms.
In this context, the reduction of the workforce in the Spanish offices takes place in parallel to a moment of economic expansion for the company, which has generated doubts and acrimony between unions and employees about the balance between profitability and the reasons for the adjustment in employment.
