Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon has closed its artificial intelligence (AI) research institute in Shanghai, becoming the latest in a wave of U.S. companies to lay off employees in China.
An Amazon spokesperson said that after an in-depth assessment of the company’s organization, development priorities and future strategic direction, Amazon decided to streamline some teams at Amazon Cloud Technology. He did not confirm the reports that the Shanghai AI Research Institute has been disbanded. However, scientists at the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Shanghai AI Research Institute posted on WeChat that they received the notice of the close-down of the institute due to the “strategic adjustment between China and the United States.”
Amazon Web Services (AWS) established the Shanghai AI Research Institute in September 2018. At its peak, it had more than 1,000 Chinese employees. As US-China relations continue to be tense, many U.S. companies have reduced their R&D teams in China in recent years. In August last year, IBM completely closed its R&D department in China, and thousands of employees were laid off. In June this year, Citigroup announced the streamlining of its global technology solution centers in Shanghai and Dalian (Liaoning Province), laying off about 3,500 technical personnel.
Source: Lianhe Zaobao, July 23, 2025
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/china/story20250723-7201947