US technology giant Amazon has confirmed it will cut 16,000 jobs as part of an ongoing effort to streamline operations and reduce bureaucracy. The announcement comes hours after an internal email, apparently sent in error, suggested a broader round of global redundancies affecting employees in the US, Canada, and Costa Rica.
The draft email, seen by the BBC, was titled “Send Project Dawn email,” referring to Amazon’s internal code name for the redundancies. While the message outlined the planned job cuts, employees had not yet been officially informed when it was mistakenly circulated. The email noted that the layoffs were intended to strengthen the company, reduce layers, and accelerate decision-making.
Early on Wednesday, Amazon officially confirmed the job reductions. Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience and technology, said the company was not planning to conduct “broad reductions every few months,” referencing the 14,000 corporate positions cut in October. “While many teams finalized their organizational changes in October, other teams did not complete that work until now,” she explained.
Amazon employs approximately 1.5 million people worldwide, with around 350,000 in corporate roles. The company has not disclosed which teams or countries will be affected by the latest layoffs. Employees impacted by the cuts have been invited to reapply for open positions at Amazon, though available roles are limited. Those who do not secure new positions will receive severance pay based on tenure.
The layoffs have been anticipated by staff for several weeks. A former employee, who left during October’s redundancies, said there was a broad expectation among staff that Amazon would ultimately cut around 30,000 roles, with additional reductions planned through May.
The announcement coincides with broader strategic shifts at Amazon. CEO Andy Jassy, who succeeded Jeff Bezos four years ago, has overseen multiple rounds of job cuts and implemented a more stringent workplace culture. In-office work is now mandatory five days a week, making Amazon one of the few major tech companies to require full-time presence in its offices. The company has also focused on cost-cutting measures, including monitoring AWS employees’ corporate mobile phone usage.
In addition to workforce restructuring, Amazon recently revealed plans to close its remaining Amazon-branded grocery stores, Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go, while expanding its Whole Foods Market business.
In a pre-Thanksgiving email viewed by the BBC, Jassy described the current period at Amazon as “a time to rethink everything we’ve ever done,” acknowledging the rapid pace of change in the business environment and the challenges and opportunities facing employees.
The latest layoffs reflect Amazon’s ongoing effort to reshape its corporate structure, cut costs, and accelerate decision-making as it navigates a period of economic uncertainty and shifting consumer trends.
