Amazon employees were caught off guard after an internal AWS email revealed fresh job cuts without any prior announcement.
The layoffs are part of Amazon’s broader plan to cut nearly 30,000 corporate roles, following the first phase of 14,000 job losses in October 2025.
CEO Andy Jassy has linked workforce reductions to cutting bureaucracy and increasing efficiency, with AI expected to reshape Amazon’s corporate headcount.
Amazon’s cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services (AWS), was left confused and concerned on Tuesday after it received an internal email citing fresh job cuts. Notably, the email was sent without any official or prior announcement from the company, Reuters reported. The email was sent to the AWS employees and described the layoffs as part of "organizational changes".
The email, signed by Colleen Aubrey, senior vice president of applied AI solutions at AWS, wrongly said that impacted employees in the US, Canada and Costa Rica had already been informed they lost their jobs, the report added.
1 January 2026
Get the latest issue of Outlook Business
Adding to the confusion, the email carried the subject line "Project Dawn" and appeared to be recalled or cancelled shortly after it was sent. Amazon has not yet explained what Project Dawn refers to or whether the message was shared before it was meant to go out.
This comes after an earlier report by Reuters claimed that Amazon was preparing to eliminate thousands of employees as part of a broader plan to reduce its corporate workforce by nearly 30,000 employees.
Under this layoff plan, the e-coomerce giant had already laid off about 14,000 white-collar workers in October 2025 during the first phase of this exercise. The current round was expected to mark the second phase of the job reduction plan.
The report had said that several divisions, including AWS, its core retail business, Prime Video, and the human resources unit known as People Experience and Technology, were likely to be affected by these job cuts. However, the final number of layoffs and the specific teams involved could still change.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has been open about the company’s strategy to reduce management layers, cut bureaucracy, and speed up decision-making. He has also repeatedly highlighted AI as a key driver of efficiency, stating that increased use of AI is likely to reduce Amazon’s corporate workforce over time.
Separately, Amazon announced changes to its grocery business on the same day it sent the email. The company confirmed it will shut down Amazon Fresh supermarkets and Go convenience stores, shifting focus to Whole Foods and online grocery delivery.
