Who Is Beth Galetti? Amazon’s HR Leader Behind the Layoff Announcement

Beth Galetti is a senior executive at Amazon, serving as the Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology, the company’s top human resources (HR) role. She is the executive who communicated the company’s decision to cut around 16,000 corporate jobs worldwide in January 2026.

As head of People Experience and Technology, Galetti oversees HR strategy, workforce planning and internal HR technology at one of the world’s largest employers, supporting more than a million staff globally.

Background: Education and Early Career

Galetti has a solid technical and business foundation:

• She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Lehigh University.
• She also earned an MBA from Colorado Technical University.

Before joining Amazon, she spent almost a decade at FedEx in senior roles covering technology and operations. This blend of engineering, operations and HR makes her background broader than that of many HR executives.

Rise at Amazon: From Vice President to HR Head

Beth Galetti joined Amazon in 2013 as a vice president in the HR division. Over more than a decade, she steadily rose through leadership positions to become Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology.

In her current role, she leads teams responsible for:

• Recruitment and staffing across global offices.
• Employee HR services and support systems.
• Technology platforms that manage Amazon’s human resources functions.

Her position also involves shaping major organisational policies, including workforce development programmes and key internal initiatives such as Amazon’s return-to-office policies.

The Amazon Layoff Announcement: Helping Guide a Difficult Message

In January 2026, Amazon announced a second major round of layoffs, removing about 16,000 corporate roles worldwide, mainly in office-based functions across technology, retail, cloud services, media and HR itself.

Galetti communicated this decision in an official blog post and email to staff, explaining that the cuts were part of “additional organisational changes” designed to strengthen the company by reducing management layers, increasing ownership and removing bureaucracy.

She also outlined support measures for affected employees, including:

• A 90-day period to seek internal roles (for most US-based staff).
• Severance packages and transition assistance for those who do not move into new roles.
• Skills training and outplacement support in some cases.

Her message acknowledged the challenges of organisational change and expressed the company’s commitment to assist employees through the transition.

Role Beyond Layoffs: Leadership and Influence

Beth Galetti’s responsibilities extend beyond restructuring. She plays a central role in:

• Setting HR strategy for one of the largest workforces in the world.
• Driving internal technology solutions that support Amazon’s people operations.
• Workforce development and global HR policy implementation.

Outside Amazon, she serves as Board Chair of PATH, a global health non-profit organisation, since 2022.

Galetti lives in Seattle, USA, with her husband and two daughters.

Why Her Role Matters in the Layoff Context

Beth Galetti’s position makes her one of the most influential HR leaders in corporate America. Her leadership in navigating Amazon’s workforce decisions, including significant layoffs and organisational restructuring, has placed her in the public eye.

While layoffs are often seen as difficult and controversial, Galetti’s communications aim to balance business strategy explanations with support for affected staff, reflecting her responsibility to both Amazon’s growth goals and employee welfare.