Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Matt Garman recently emphasized the company’s confidence in its AI investments, despite laying off 14,000 corporate employees worldwide. The cuts, which represent about 4% of Amazon’s corporate workforce, come amid efforts to streamline management and focus resources on the company’s biggest strategic bets, particularly AI.

Central to Amazon’s AI push is Project Rainier, an $11 billion AI data center in Indiana, purpose-built to train and run AI models from Anthropic, one of Amazon’s primary AI partners. The facility, which became fully operational this month, houses over half a million AWS Trainium 2 chips and is expected to double in scale by year-end, showcasing Amazon’s long-term commitment to AI infrastructure.

Over the past year, AWS has spent nearly $100 billion in capital expenditure, reflecting its aggressive AI strategy. While critics warn of an AI boom potentially overheating, Garman insists Amazon’s investments are disciplined and data-driven. With layoffs occurring alongside massive AI expansion, Amazon is betting that its AI-driven transformation will yield substantial long-term returns, even as it reshapes its workforce and operations.