BELLEVUE, Wash. — Amazon and T-Mobile are slashing hundreds of jobs in Bellevue and across Washington state, dealing a major blow to the region’s tech-heavy workforce as companies restructure amid shifting economic and industry pressures.
“We have employees here whose husbands work at T-Mobile and Amazon, or wives, and that’s going to be nothing but bad news,” said Rob Pickering, who owns Snapdoodle Toys and Games.
Amazon is eliminating 2,198 positions statewide, including 626 corporate jobs in Bellevue, according to a regulatory filing with the Washington state Employment Security Department. The cuts are part of a broader reduction of 16,000 jobs companywide and follow an earlier round of layoffs in October that affected more than 2,300 employees in the Puget Sound region.
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The remaining Amazon layoffs were spread across multiple locations, including 1,407 employees at its Seattle headquarters, 30 in Redmond, 19 at fulfillment centers, and 116 fully remote workers, based on information provided in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN).
The Seattle-based tech giant said the reductions are aimed at removing layers of management and reducing bureaucracy as it ramps up billions of dollars in spending on artificial intelligence, including investments in data centers and advanced computer chips.
T-Mobile, headquartered in Bellevue, is also cutting 393 jobs across Washington state, including several vice presidents and senior management roles. The telecom company said the layoffs are part of an internal restructuring designed to align teams better and streamline operations as it continues to integrate prior acquisitions and adjust to changing market conditions.
Affected employees work at T-Mobile’s Bellevue headquarters, data centers in Bellevue and East Wenatchee, and retail stores and facilities in Bothell, Bellingham, Woodinville, Spokane Valley, and other locations.
“We are right behind the T-Mobile, I believe it’s their headquarters or their main offices, so during lunch time you see a whole lot of people just walking in. A lot of foot traffic here for us,” said Edwin Sanchez, a manager at a Bellevue remodeling company called E & A Pro Flooring.
Employees at T-Mobile were given 60 days’ notice, with departures expected to take effect on April 2. The WARN notice, signed by Monica Frohock, senior director of the Magenta Service Center, cited “changing business needs” as the reason for the layoffs.
Washington remains the center of T-Mobile’s workforce, making the cuts particularly significant to the local economy. The company did not provide a city-by-city breakdown of the affected positions.
At Amazon, most U.S.-based employees were given 90 days to apply for other roles within Amazon. Those who do not secure new positions will receive severance packages that include pay, outplacement services, and health insurance benefits.
The latest reductions add to mounting job losses in the region’s tech sector.
Nearly 9,800 Washington-based workers have been laid off by tech companies since January 2025, including recent cuts at Microsoft and Meta, according to state filings.
Pickering isn’t certain how the coming weeks and months will go for his toy stores with so many potential customers now out of work. He said sometimes people who are unemployed with children stay home and buy more games to give their kids a sense of normalcy as they ride out turbulent times.
“Bellevue seems to be a little more recession-proof, but I do not know if that’s going to hold much longer,” Pickering said. “T-Mobile’s news was just today, so I’m nervous. Let’s just say I’m being very cautious.”
