Amazon axes 16,000 jobs worldwide, bungles layoff plan with internal email gaffe

American e-commerce giant Amazon confirmed on Wednesday (Jan 28) that it will be slashing 16,000 jobs worldwide after an internal email regarding the layoffs was mistakenly shared with staff.

The email was sent on Tuesday night (Jan 27) by Colleen Aubrey, senior vice-president of applied AI solutions at Amazon Web Services (AWS), detailing job cuts across regions and AWS teams.

The email, which seen by BBC, was reportedly sent by accident and included a calendar event titled "Send project Dawn email", an apparent reference to the company's code name for layoffs.

While the email made clear that the cuts were happening, employees had not yet been officially informed.

The email was quickly cancelled, but the company made an official announcement on Wednesday about the upcoming "organisational changes" that would affect employees.

The job cuts represent around 10 per cent of its corporate workforce, and human resources executive Beth Galetti said that the company is "working hard to support everyone whose role is impacted".

She said most US-based employees will be given 90 days to look for a new role internally. Those unable to find a new role within Amazon, or those who choose not to will be provided with transition support including severance pay, outplacement services, health insurance benefits.

Galetti also said that the upcoming job cuts do not represent "the beginning of a new rhythm — where we announce broad reductions every few months".

"That's not our plan," she said, explaining that the latest round of layoffs is due to the finalisation of organisational changes that some teams were unable to complete by October, when 14,000 corporate job cuts were announced.

"We've been working to strengthen our organisation by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy," Galetti said, adding that the company will also continue hiring and investing in strategic areas.

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dana.leong@asiaone.com