Who Is Beth Galetti, Amazon's HR Chief Who Announced Major Layoffs

Amazon has announced it will cut around 16,000 corporate roles globally, in its second major round of layoffs in just a few months, as part of a company-wide effort to streamline operations and reduce bureaucracy. 

The announcement was shared with staff by Beth Galetti, Amazon's Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology, who oversees the company's human resources services and internal technology platforms. 

Galetti joined Amazon in 2013 as a vice president in its HR division after spending nearly a decade at FedEx, where she held senior technology and operations positions. Over the years at Amazon, she has risen through the ranks to her current senior executive role. 

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In her message to employees, Galetti said the layoffs were part of "additional organisational changes" intended to strengthen the business by reducing management layers, increasing ownership and removing bureaucracy. Affected US-based staff will have 90 days to seek new internal roles, with severance and support offered to those unable or unwilling to find new positions. 

Galetti's portfolio at Amazon includes large-scale HR operations and technology solutions that support more than a million employees worldwide. She has led initiatives such as the implementation of the company's return-to-office policy and broader workforce development programmes. 

She holds a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Lehigh University and an MBA from Colorado Technical University. Galetti also serves as Board Chair of PATH, a global health nonprofit, since 2022, and is active in several community volunteer efforts. Galetti lives in Seattle with her husband and two daughters.