Amazon accidentally spoils own layoff news

The “commiseration email” also came with an invitation to a team meeting, which was promptly cancelled, according to Slack messages viewed by Reuters. The email referred to the layoffs as “Project Dawn” and acknowledged that “Changes like this are hard on everyone,” which was especially true in this case since, reportedly, no one yet knew whether they were among the positions affected. The AWS layoffs would affect the company’s retail, Prime Video and human resource departments. The company had previously laid off 14,000 employees in October. 

Amazon did confirm the layoffs in a press release this morning. “We’re still in the early stages of building every one of our businesses and there’s significant opportunity ahead,” writes senior vice president of people experience and technology at Amazon, Beth Galetti in the message shared to staff, which also details severance pay and things of that nature. “Some of you might ask if this is the beginning of a new rhythm – where we announce broad reductions every few months. That’s not our plan. But just as we always have, every team will continue to evaluate the ownership, speed, and capacity to invent for customers, and make adjustments as appropriate. That’s never been more important than it is today in a world that’s changing faster than ever.”