Amazon's layoff email mix-up leaves employees anxious
Amazon Web Services (AWS) accidentally sent an early morning email about layoffs—before actually notifying affected staff in the US, Canada, and Costa Rica.
The calendar meeting associated with the message, which was signed by AWS exec Colleen Aubrey, was quickly canceled but left thousands of employees confused and worried about their jobs.
By the numbers
Confusion spread across an internal Slack channel with more than 36,000 Amazon employees.
This is Amazon's second big layoff since October 2025, when 14,000 jobs were cut.
More cuts are coming for teams across AWS, retail, Prime Video, and HR as Amazon looks to streamline.
Quick bit
The email included a line: "Changes like this are hard on everyone"—a reminder that even tech giants know job cuts hit home for real people.