Amazon Announces 16,000 Global Job Cuts After Internal Email Mishap
Amazon has confirmed it will eliminate 16,000 positions worldwide, just hours after employees were inadvertently alerted to the redundancies through an internal email that was not intended for distribution. The announcement came on Wednesday 28 January 2026, marking another significant round of layoffs at the tech behemoth.
Escalating Corporate Reductions
This latest wave of job cuts follows the 14,000 corporate roles Amazon said it would axe in October, bringing the total number of white-collar redundancies to approximately 30,000 in less than six months. The company employs around 1.5 million people globally, with roughly 350,000 of those in corporate positions.
In a message to staff, Amazon's chief people officer Beth Galetti explained that the cuts are part of "additional organisational changes" designed to reduce management layers. While most affected roles are expected to be in the United States, some positions in the United Kingdom may also be impacted.
Reassurance and Strategic Hiring
Galetti sought to calm employee concerns by emphasising that this move does not indicate a regular pattern of ongoing redundancies. "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," she wrote. She added that Amazon will continue hiring in strategic areas deemed critical to the company's future growth and innovation.
Affected US-based staff will be given 90 days to apply for other internal roles, with arrangements varying in other countries where Amazon operates.
The 'Project Dawn' Email Error
The formal announcement was preceded by an embarrassing internal slip-up. Workers at Amazon Web Services (AWS) received a calendar invitation on Tuesday for a meeting that was later cancelled. This invitation included a draft email outlining the job cuts, which was seen by multiple media outlets.
The email suggested that staff in the US, Canada, and Costa Rica had already been informed they were losing their jobs and referred to the layoffs under the codename 'Project Dawn'. Signed by Colleen Aubrey, a senior vice-president of applied AI solutions at AWS, the message described the cuts as part of a long-running effort to "strengthen the company." Amazon later confirmed the email had been shared in error.
Broader Cost-Cutting Strategy
These redundancies represent the latest step in chief executive Andy Jassy's ongoing push to unwind Amazon's pandemic-era hiring spree and rein in costs across the business. Jassy has also warned employees that advances in artificial intelligence could put certain white-collar roles at risk in coming years, while simultaneously tightening workplace rules, including mandating a five-day office work week.
Industry-Wide Pressures
The move comes amid mounting pressure across the technology sector. US delivery firm UPS announced this week that it plans to cut up to 30,000 jobs this year as it pulls back from low-margin deliveries for Amazon, its largest customer and an increasingly direct competitor.
In the UK, Amazon has been reshaping its retail footprint following the announcement of closures for its Amazon Fresh shops. Despite these corporate reductions, the company states it still plans to create up to 2,000 new jobs at new warehouses in Hull and Northampton, indicating a strategic shift in its operational focus.
