Editor’s be aware: At 5:30 a.m. EST Wednesday, Amazon introduced 16,000 layoffs. In a be aware by Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice chairman of individuals expertise and know-how, Amazon “will supply most US-based workers 90 days to search for a brand new position internally (timing will differ internationally primarily based on native and nation stage necessities).”
Amazon inadvertently despatched out layoff commiseration emails and a team-wide assembly invitation to workers of its Amazon Internet Companies cloud computing crew hours earlier than a deliberate announcement on Wednesday, in keeping with Reuters and CNBC.
Reuters reported that the assembly on Wednesday was nearly instantly canceled.
The e-mail was signed by Colleen Aubrey, senior vice chairman of utilized AI options at Amazon Internet Companies, and browse, partially: “Modifications like this are exhausting on everybody. These selections are tough and are made thoughtfully as we place our group and AWS for future success.”
The transfer would’ve come three months after Amazon axed 14,000 jobs.
Each Reuters and Bloomberg final week reported that one other spherical of company cuts is coming any day, and will quantity within the hundreds. Mixed with final yr’s cuts, this would cut back whole company workers by about 10%.
Whereas AI has been the named offender for a lot of mass layoffs in the previous couple of months, Amazon’s fall discount raised a distinct query: Was tradition responsible?
In an earnings name this fall, CEO Andy Jassy mentioned that spherical of layoffs was “probably not financially pushed and never even actually AI-driven—not proper now, no less than. It’s tradition,” he mentioned. That declare made important waves in HR circles on social media, with critics decrying the deal with tradition as an admission that the corporate made 14,000 dangerous hires, or that their assimilation was poorly dealt with by HR.
In the meantime, different firm leaders known as the layoffs a part of a broader motion towards leaner buildings with a deal with pace and effectivity.
On the time, management hinted on the potential for additional restructuring, which now seems to be coming to fruition.
The purported subsequent spherical of Amazon layoffs comes on the heels of reports final week that Citigroup is planning its personal discount in March, after axing 1,000 jobs earlier this month beneath its new CEO.
In a press release at the moment, the agency mentioned the transfer was to make sure “staffing ranges, areas and experience” align with enterprise wants, tech-driven efficiencies and an ongoing push for transformation.
CNBC reported that the layoffs would’ve impacted its cloud computing and shops models.
The net chatter surrounding layoffs at each Amazon and Citigroup mirrors the current state of affairs at Microsoft, which had a decidedly completely different end result. After nameless social media postings pointed to the probabilities of main job cuts this winter, the agency’s chief communications officer made a public assertion flatly refuting the claims.
The response highlights the tense actuality dealing with many People concerning the looming potential of layoffs. In truth, a current examine by MyPerfectResume of 1,000 employed People discovered that concern of unemployment ranked amongst their prime considerations heading into 2026. Greater than 40% of staff anticipate layoffs at their firm this yr, and a couple of third fear about their job safety.
It’s a concern that’s inflicting many to remain put because the panorama evolves. Researchers say workers are “selecting safety over ambition, stability over exploration and calm over profession strikes”—which, for HR, highlights a rising threat for disengagement.
“Employees are staying,” they write, “not as a result of they really feel settled, however as a result of they concern the dangers related to transferring.”
