Amazon to cut 16,000 jobs worldwide

US online retail and cloud computing giant Amazon said Wednesday that it would be cutting 16,000 jobs worldwide as part of a restructuring, as it focuses spending on artificial intelligence.

The job cuts, which follow already flagged plans to cut its workforce by 14,000 posts, are aimed at "reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy," senior vice president Beth Galetti said in a statement.

Media reports from October had said the roughly 30,000 job cuts planned in total would impact nearly 10 percent of the 350,000 office jobs at

Amazon, without affecting the distribution and warehouse workers that make up the bulk of its 1.5 million employees.

At the time the company refused to comment on the reports, which said they came amid increased investments in artificial intelligence.