An internal Amazon document explains how the company plans to meet its new goal to have fewer managers.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on Monday announced a plan to increase the ratio of individual contributors to managers by at least 15% by the end of the first quarter of next year.
BI obtained a copy of the internal document, which warns that the new plan could result in role eliminations as “organizations may identify roles that are no longer required.” The goal is to increase the ratio compared to levels at the end of 2023.
Here are all the details from the document. Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.
Strengthening Our Organizations FAQ
Q1. Why are we taking steps to flatten our organizations?
We’ve always sought to hire very smart and inventive teammates to do detailed work and have a high sense of ownership. This work builds off of some of the past ways we’ve worked to keep our teams healthy, like span of control, and is intended to help teams move faster without unnecessary processes, meetings, mechanisms, and layers that create overhead and waste valuable time. If we do this work well, it will drive decision-making closer to the front lines where it most impacts customers (and the business), decreases bureaucracy, and strengthen our organizations’ ability to make customers’ lives better and easier every day.
Q2. Why are we taking these steps now?
As we have grown our teams quickly and substantially, we have understandably added a lot of managers.
In that process, we have also added more layers than we had before. It’s created artifacts that we’d like to change (e.g., pre-meetings for the pre-meetings for the decision meetings, a longer line of managers feeling like they need to review a topic before it moves forward, owners of initiatives feeling less like they should make recommendations because the decision will be made elsewhere, etc.).
We want more of our teammates feeling like they can move fast without unnecessary processes, meetings, mechanisms, and layers that create overhead and waste valuable time. We believe now is the right time to bring us all closer to our customers and reinforce our culture of ownership.
Q3. What is the timeline for when orgs will make this shift?
Over the coming months, senior leaders across Amazon will be examining their organizations for opportunities to advance an even more customer-centric team structure that fosters agility and empowers frontline decision making. This is long-term, iterative work, but we believe most orgs will make these shifts by the end of Q1 2025. Some orgs have already taken steps to flatten how they are structured, and we are asking each s-team leader to increase the ratio of individual contributors to managers by at least 15%, starting from their baseline at the end of 2023. Any changes or adjustments will be communicated at the team level.
Q4. Will reducing layers limit my visibility with my manager?
We expect it will be the opposite — any changes resulting from this should increase managers’ and leaders’ visibility to their teams’ work. If we do this work well, it will increase our teammates’ agility and ability to move fast, clarify and invigorate their sense of ownership, and drive decision making closer to the front lines where it impacts customers (and the business).
Q5. Will the increase of individual contributor to manager ratios result in role eliminations?
Every organization will review their structure to ensure their teams are best set up to achieve their goals.
It’s possible that organizations may identify roles that are no longer required. Any changes or adjustments will be communicated at the team level.
Q6. Who is responsible for making decisions on changes to organizational structures?
Senior leaders across Amazon will work closely with their HR business partners to determine what changes will help them have a more customer-centric organizational structure that fosters agility and empowers frontline decision making. Any changes coming out of this process will be communicated in advance at the team level.
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