Amazon (AMZN) Stock: AWS Layoffs Accidentally Revealed in Early Email

TLDR

• Amazon accidentally sent an email to AWS cloud unit employees on Tuesday revealing layoffs planned for Wednesday morning
• The premature email from AWS senior vice president Colleen Aubrey was quickly canceled and referenced “Project Dawn”
• Amazon plans to announce cuts affecting around 30,000 corporate jobs across AWS, retail, Prime Video and HR divisions
• The company already laid off 14,000 corporate employees in October as part of this broader reduction plan
• Amazon CEO Andy Jassy previously linked the cuts to AI efficiency gains and reducing management layers

Amazon made an embarrassing mistake on Tuesday. The company accidentally sent out an email about layoffs a day too early.

The email went to employees in Amazon Web Services, the company’s cloud computing division. It revealed that layoffs were scheduled for Wednesday morning.

Amazon.com, Inc., AMZN

Colleen Aubrey, senior vice president of applied AI solutions at AWS, sent the premature message. The email told employees that their affected colleagues had already been notified. That wasn’t true yet.

The company quickly canceled a team-wide meeting that had been scheduled. AWS employees discussed the blunder in Slack messages. Amazon referred to the layoffs internally as “Project Dawn.”

Amazon hasn’t officially confirmed the layoff plan yet. Reuters reported on Friday that the cuts were coming this week.

Widespread Job Cuts Across Multiple Divisions

The layoffs are part of a much bigger plan. Amazon is cutting around 30,000 corporate jobs total.

Multiple divisions will feel the impact. AWS, retail, Prime Video and human resources are all on the list. The exact number of cuts this week remains unclear.

Amazon already eliminated about 14,000 positions in October. Those cuts were the first wave of this larger reduction plan. The 30,000 total represents nearly 10% of Amazon’s corporate workforce.

CEO Andy Jassy explained the reasoning behind the cuts in October. He said the company wants to reduce management layers and cut bureaucracy. He also predicted last June that AI would shrink Amazon’s corporate staff.

Beth Galetti, Amazon’s head of human resources, wrote a blog post about the October layoffs. She indicated more job cuts would likely follow. The mistaken email on Tuesday referenced Galetti’s post, which hasn’t appeared on Amazon’s website yet.

Grocery Business Also Facing Restructuring

Tuesday brought more bad news for Amazon employees. The company announced it’s reorganizing its grocery business too.

Amazon will close its Fresh supermarkets and Go convenience stores. The company wants to focus on Whole Foods stores and online grocery delivery instead. Jason Buechel, Amazon’s top grocery executive, said the company needs to make more “deliberate choices.”

Jobs in the grocery divisions were cut as part of this restructuring. Amazon didn’t say how many employees lost their positions.

The timing adds pressure ahead of Amazon’s fourth-quarter earnings report. The company is scheduled to release results after the bell on February 5.

Amazon employs 1.58 million people total. The corporate job cuts represent a small fraction of the overall workforce. Most Amazon employees work in warehouses and delivery operations.

The accidental email reveals the challenges Amazon faces. The company is trying to streamline operations while managing sensitive communications with employees.

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