Amazon recruiting former workers for artificial intelligence and cloud positions

Amazon's artificial intelligence division is systematically approaching past employees to rejoin the workforce, with particular focus on those previously affected by layoffs. Under the direction of AWS VP Swami Sivasubramanian, the company is streamlining its hiring process for returning talent, especially those with expertise in machine learning and cloud systems. Finance recruiters have questioned departing staff about office attendance policies and their impact on retention, while the company evaluates changes to mandates around workplace attendance. An Amazon representative characterized returning employee recruitment as standard practice throughout the organization rather than limited to specific technical domains. The push reflects growing demand for AI capabilities across company operations and a strategy to reabsorb experienced workers with deep institutional knowledge.

1. AWS VP Swami Sivasubramanian directs the effort to bring former employees back through a boomerang reengagement program
2. Former staff with skills in AI and machine learning are the primary targets for cloud and AI-focused positions
3. Returning former workers face a shortened recruitment timeline compared to external candidates
4. AWS Finance recruiters have surveyed departing staff regarding whether mandatory office policies influenced their decisions to leave
5. The company is reconsidering its workplace attendance requirements as part of recruitment strategy
6. Amazon considers rehiring of former employees to be a routine recruitment method across all business units, not unique to technical roles
7. Prior workforce reductions eliminated roughly 30,000 corporate positions through organizational changes
8. Returning employees represented 3.4% of U.S. new hires across industries by the end of 2025, compared with 3.1% two years prior