Amazon is about to layoff AWS employees worldwide soon
What's the story
Amazon inadvertently suggested a new round of global layoffs through an email. The message, drafted by Colleen Aubrey, a Senior Vice President at Amazon Web Services (AWS), was accidentally sent to several employees yesterday. It mentioned that employees in the US, Canada, and Costa Rica had been laid off as part of an effort to "strengthen the company."
Strategy
Email details Amazon's layoff strategy
The email, which was quickly retracted, detailed Amazon's approach to the layoffs. It said, "This is a continuation of the work we've been doing for more than a year to strengthen the company by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy." The message also acknowledged that such changes are difficult but are made thoughtfully as part of positioning AWS for future success.
Layoff history
Layoff history and future plans
In late October, Amazon had announced 14,000 job cuts. A former employee revealed that this second round of layoffs had been anticipated by employees for weeks. The general consensus was that the company planned to cut a total of around 30,000 roles, with another major round of layoffs this month and more redundancies until the end of May.
Industry impact
Industry-wide layoffs and Amazon's cost-cutting measures
Since 2022, tech giants like Amazon, Meta, Google, and Microsoft have been laying off thousands of employees each year. The entire tech industry has seen an estimated 700,000 job cuts over the last four years. In a bid to cut costs further, Amazon has even begun monitoring corporate mobile phone usage by AWS employees.