Recruiter emails obtained by Business Insider show Amazon contacting former employees about open positions across the company, with a particular focus on roles in AWS, artificial intelligence and machine learning.
In one recent outreach, Amazon's AI agent organisation, led by AWS Vice President Swami Sivasubramanian, invited former employees with AI and ML experience to discuss new opportunities under what a recruiter called "Swami's Boomerang Reengagement Initiative."
In another case, an AWS Finance recruiter offered a former employee a shortened interview process and a faster path towards a new offer, while also asking whether Amazon's return-to-office policy had been one of the main reasons the employee left.
Amazon spokesperson Haley Silva told Business Insider that rehiring former employees is a normal and longstanding companywide practice rather than a new initiative limited to AI or cloud roles, and said eligible former workers can include employees who were laid off , though Amazon is hiring for open roles rather than specifically targeting people who left because of its return-to-office policy. Amazon's current office attendance requirements remain unchanged.
Amazon has cut more than 30,000 jobs in multiple rounds of layoffs over the past year, among the largest workforce reductions in its history. Amazon reportedly wants to bring former employees back to bolster its AI team, as it has found it difficult to attract workers from rival AI companies such as Alphabet, Meta Platforms, OpenAI and Anthropic.
Boomerang hiring has also been increasing across corporate America more broadly. Returning employees accounted for 35% of new US hires in March 2025, up from 31% a year earlier, according to ADP data, with the trend even stronger in technology.
For employers, rehiring former workers can be attractive because they already understand the company's systems and culture and can often become productive faster than completely new hires.
