Amazon has confirmed it will cut 16,000 jobs worldwide, hours after an internal email detailing the redundancies was accidentally sent to staff. The message, later withdrawn, revealed layoffs across the US, Canada and Costa Rica as part of efforts to streamline the business.
The email, seen by the BBC, described the cuts as a move to “strengthen the company.” It was cancelled shortly after being shared, but early the following day Amazon formally announced the job losses, saying it aimed to “remove bureaucracy” and speed up decision making.
Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, said the company was not planning to make “broad reductions every few months,” referring to the 14,000 corporate roles cut in October. “While many teams finalized their organizational changes in October, other teams did not complete that work until now,” she said.
Amazon employs around 1.5 million people globally, including about 350,000 in corporate roles, but has not said which teams or countries will be affected by the latest cuts. The redundancies were disclosed after a draft message written by Colleen Aubrey, a senior vice president at Amazon Web Services, was included in a calendar invitation titled “Send project Dawn email,” an apparent reference to the internal code name for the layoffs.
“This is a continuation of the work we’ve been doing for more than a year to strengthen the company by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy, so that we can move faster for customers,” the email said. It added: “Changes like this are hard on everyone. These decisions are difficult and made thoughtfully as we position our organization and AWS for future success.”
According to a former employee, who asked not to be identified, the cuts had been widely expected. Staff believed Amazon was aiming to eliminate around 30,000 roles in total, with further redundancies anticipated through to the end of May. Workers affected were invited to apply for a limited number of open roles, with severance pay offered to those who did not move elsewhere in the business.
The job losses come as chief executive Andy Jassy continues to reshape Amazon’s culture and cost base. Office attendance is now mandatory five days a week, and the company has taken steps to curb spending, including monitoring mobile phone reimbursements. In an earlier message to staff, Jassy described the current period as “a time to rethink everything we’ve ever done.” The announcement follows news that Amazon will close its remaining Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go grocery stores while expanding its Whole Foods Market business.
Author: Kieran Seymour