Structural simplification, cost discipline, and pivot toward AI: The labor reconfiguration of global corporations
Major multinational corporations, led by Netflix, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Oracle, Disney, and Volkswagen, have launched severe rounds of workforce cuts. The move comes in response to an accelerated business reconfiguration to adapt their structures to changes in consumer habits, margin pressures, and an aggressive reallocation of resources toward artificial intelligence (AI).
Adjustments in the technology and entertainment sector
Leading technology and media firms have announced significant cuts to reduce bureaucracy and accelerate their AI projects:
- Netflix: Announced the reduction of 6% of its workforce, equivalent to 1,000 jobs, marking its largest adjustment since 2022. In an internal communication, co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos specified that the cuts primarily affect teams in product, technology, legal affairs, and human resources.
- Microsoft: Confirmed the elimination of 4,800 jobs (2.1% of its global workforce) to accelerate AI investments, adding to the cut of 9,009 jobs (4%) carried out in July 2025.
- Amazon: Laid off 16,000 employees in administrative areas in January to reduce corporate bureaucracy, after having cut 14,000 positions in 2025.
- Oracle: Executed the departure of 30,000 workers in March as part of a restructuring process in the race for AI development.
- Meta: Initiated the elimination of 8,000 jobs (10% of its headcount) and the relocation of another 7,000 positions to streamline its organization and increase its working capital for AI.
- Disney: Is preparing to cut up to 1,000 positions under the Project Imagine initiative, aimed at consolidating marketing areas across entertainment, experiences, and sports.
Massive restructuring in the automotive sector
Outside the tech environment, the industrial sector faces similar market pressures:
- Volkswagen: Plans to eliminate 100,000 jobs worldwide by the end of the decade (15% of its workforce). The adjustment responds to falling sales in Europe, competition from Chinese manufacturers, and import tariffs in the United States.
From the editorial perspective of next+, the current wave of cuts across global corporations marks the end of the cycle of excessive payroll expansion, making way for an era of extreme operational discipline. Technology is no longer seen solely as an enabler of new products, but as a direct substitute for routine administrative tasks that helps finance the enormous infrastructure costs required by artificial intelligence. For executive committees and human resources directors in Latin America, this environment confirms that the value of corporate talent will rapidly shift toward highly specialized technical roles and execution capabilities in automated environments.