San Diego, CA
Amazon is shedding software developer jobs in San Diego. Is AI to blame?
Retail giant Amazon plans to shed more than 100 San Diego jobs related to software development, which has been tied to artificial intelligence gains and a struggling video game division.
Amazon will lay off 145 workers in San Diego, with their last day set as Jan. 26, said a WARN notice required by state law. It was part of a nationwide layoff of 14,000 corporate workers.
The Seattle-based company had been increasing its San Diego office presence — outside of its retail warehouses — since 2017. It has hired hundreds of local video game developers, software engineers and numerous positions related to technology.
In a blog post, the company said the nationwide layoffs were part of an effort to be leaner and less bureaucratic. It also cited AI as a reason to cut costs.
“This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet, and it’s enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before (in existing market segments and altogether new ones),” wrote Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience and technology at Amazon. “We’re convinced that we need to be organized more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership, to move as quickly as possible for our customers and businesses.”
While dozens of different positions were listed on the San Diego WARN notice, the single biggest cuts were to software development engineers, with more than 50 positions eliminated. Many analysts, like those at Goldman Sachs, have listed the position as one of the most vulnerable to AI. Writing simpler code, for everything from mobile phone applications to computer software, can be done more quickly by AI than a human, they say.
Kevin Carroll, executive director of industry trade group Tech San Diego, said artificial intelligence has slowed hiring for junior software developers, but it hasn’t been a bloodbath of firings. He said software developers are still needed because AI can’t do everything.
“I don’t want to minimize the impact (AI) will have,” he said, “but you are still going to need those mid- to senior-level software developers to manage that.”
Carroll said that San Diegans concerned with the local economy shouldn’t worry too much about the negative effects of AI. He said Qualcomm’s major AI focus, recently announcing new AI accelerator chips, and an abundance of skilled computer engineering students graduating from local universities, will likely make the region a hub for the young technology’s growth.
Software developers are still sought-after, according to state data that aggregates job listings. It was the fourth-most sought position in September in San Diego County with 769 job advertisements. Yet that is down from the heyday of 2018 to 2019 when it was the most in-demand position. There were 1,688 ads for software developers in August 2019.
Amazon hasn’t been shy about saying AI could change its business. CEO Andy Jassy wrote a blog post in June where he talked about major investments in the technology and what it could mean.
“As we roll out more Generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done,” he wrote. “We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs.”
Using AI as a reason for layoffs has now coined a new term, “AI washing.” The concept, cited by CNBC in several articles, has several experts claiming many large companies are using it as a justification for old-fashioned cost-cutting.
Another factor at play in the Amazon layoffs is its struggling video game division, which is primarily based in San Diego and Irvine. It was unclear from the company how many of the 14,000 job cuts were related to the division. Steve Boom, vice president of Audio, Twitch, and Games, sent a letter (obtained by Deadline and other publications) to workers in late October that stated it needed to take a “critical look at the evolving dynamics of the games industry.”
Amazon leases roughly 250,000 square feet of office space in San Diego, mostly in the University Center area, said retail tracker CoStar. The layoffs aren’t expected to cause enough of a disturbance to require the company to pull out of leases. For comparison, Amazon owns or leases roughly 6.5 million square feet of warehouse space across San Diego County for its robust retail operation. It also has a 344,000-square-foot warehouse in Tijuana.
Amazon said in its’ layoff blog post that it would be offering most of the laid-off workers 90 days to look for a new job within the company, and recruiting teams will prioritize internal candidates for open jobs.
For those who can’t find other Amazon jobs, the company said it will offer severance pay, outplacement services and health insurance benefits for an unspecified amount of time.
San Diego, CA
San Diego County Gun Owners PAC gives reaction to latest shooting death by ICE
The San Diego County Gun Owners PAC (Political Action Committee) calls the fatal shooting of Minnesota man Alex Pretti by ICE agents “tragic and deeply troubling.”
The executive director of that organization, Michael Schwartz, told NBC 7 he’s calling for full transparency and due process moving forward.
“Both sides, Mr. Pretti and whoever the border agent was involved in the shooting, deserve a thorough investigation,” Schwartz said.
Schwartz says gun owners are loyal to principles, not parties, and believes it’s important to not turn Alex Pretti’s death into a political narrative.
“The Second Amendment has never been a Republican, Democratic or Libertarian or Green or any party issues, it’s nonpartisan. When people no matter their party do something to support the Second Amendment, we sing their praises and when they do something against it, we harshly condemn them. You saw that in this case, you saw Gun Owners of America and the National Rifle Association quickly come out with statements that were bashing certain Trump Administration officials and saying, hey we need to investigate this shooting,” Schwartz said.
On Tuesday, when talking about the most recent deadly ICE shooting in Minnesota, President Donald Trump said, “You can’t have guns. You can’t walk in with guns.”
Schwartz disagrees with what the Trump Administration has recently said about those legally carrying a firearm.
“I am completely opposed to some of the statements by Trump employees, like Kash Patel and others, who implied that somehow being a concealed carry permit holder somehow makes you more dangerous to law enforcement or implies that you’re a criminal,” Schwartz said.
According to Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, strict regulating of public carry laws are associated with lower rates of firearm crimes. Schwartz believes the rise of physical interactions between citizens and ICE might provide an opportunity.
“I think law enforcement needs to be better educated on who a concealed carry permit holder is. The fact that they go through a background check and training and the fact that as a group they tend to commit fewer crimes than the general public. Educating on who they are and what their motivation is is important to all levels of law enforcement,” Schwartz said.
Schwartz says gun rights advocates have been concerned with government overreach for decades surrounding the Second Amendment and will be closely following how current events play out.
While California has some of the most restrictive gun carry laws in the nation, it’s interesting to note that San Diego County has gone from 11,000 carry permits to over 26,000 in last seven years.
San Diego, CA
Investigation underway after person shot, injured by Escondido police
An investigation is underway after one person was shot and injured by an Escondido Police officer early Tuesday.
Police were called to a transitional house on the 100 block of S Elm Street, on reports of a man who cut himself and was armed with a knife, San Diego Police Homicide Lt. Lou Maggi said.
Police tried to negotiate with the man, who then barricaded himself inside a bathroom. Officers then left to try to de-escalate the situation, Maggi said.
Police were called again after the man had left the bathroom and was roaming the outside of the property. A K-9 officer arrived to find the man in an alleyway with a “24-inch stick.” After multiple calls from the officer to drop the weapon, the man then charged at the officer, prompting the officer to shoot the man, Maggi said.
The man was shot multiple times and taken to a local hospital in critical condition. The Escondido officer involved in the shooting was not injured.
Neither the man nor the officer has been identified at this time.
The other residents at the transitional housing were safely evacuated.
The San Diego Police Department is investigating the incident per a memorandum of understanding that prevents law enforcement agencies from investigating use-of-force cases involving their own officers.
Please refresh this page for updates on this story. Details may change as more information becomes available.
San Diego, CA
55-year-old Lakeside school employee arrested on child sex abuse charges
Authorities arrested a 55-year-old Lakeside Union School District employee for child sexual abuse charges on Sunday, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.
The department announced on Monday that back on Sept. 8, 2025, they received information regarding allegations of sexual abuse on a minor by 55-year-old Kent Cable. Detectives working with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Child Abuse Unit (CAU) stepped up to take over the investigation and did a follow-up.
Following the investigation’s completion, detectives said they had probable cause to believe Cable was in violation of three counts of sexual penetration with a child 10 years of age or younger, and four counts of lewd and lascivious act on a child under 14 years of age.
Cable was arrested on those charges and booked into the San Diego Central Jail on Sunday, according to the sheriff’s office.
Cable was employed by the Lakeside Union School District in a non-teaching role, the sheriff’s office added.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Sheriff’s Child Abuse Unit at 858-285-6222 or after hours at 858-868-3200. You can remain anonymous by calling San Diego County Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
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