Amazon to Cut 16,000 Jobs Globally After Accidental Email Alerts Staff

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Washington, D.C.: Amazon has confirmed it will cut 16,000 jobs worldwide in a second major round of layoffs, just hours after an internal message referencing the cuts was sent to employees in apparent error.

The announcement follows an earlier decision in October to eliminate 14,000 roles, as the e-commerce giant continues efforts to streamline operations and reduce costs after a pandemic-era hiring surge.

The layoffs are expected to primarily affect employees in the United States, though some roles in the UK may also be impacted. U.S.-based staff who lose their jobs will be given 90 days to seek internal transfers, while timelines may differ in other countries.

The confirmation came after workers at Amazon Web Services (AWS) received — and then saw cancelled — a meeting invitation that included a draft email revealing the job cuts. The message mistakenly stated that affected employees in the U.S., Canada and Costa Rica had already been notified.

The email, signed by Colleen Aubrey, senior vice president of applied AI solutions at AWS, referred to the layoffs as “Project Dawn.”
“Changes like this are hard on everyone,” Aubrey wrote. “These decisions are difficult and are made thoughtfully as we position our organisation and AWS for future success.”

Shortly after the error, Amazon’s human resources chief Beth Galetti issued an official blog post to staff confirming the cuts. She said the additional organisational changes were aimed at reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy, and stressed that the move was not the start of recurring rounds of layoffs.

Amazon employs about 1.5 million people globally and has been working to reverse rapid expansion during the pandemic. Chief executive Andy Jassy has previously warned that advances in artificial intelligence could reduce the need for some corporate roles in the coming years.

The announcement came as UPS separately revealed plans to cut up to 30,000 jobs in 2026, highlighting broader pressures across the global logistics and delivery sector.