Amazon shared a notice on Tuesday to cloud staffers in an apparent error acknowledging “organizational changes” at the company.
A person familiar with the matter previously stated to CNBC that the e-commerce giant will declare massive layoffs throughout its corporate workforce as early as this week. Amazon’s cloud computing and stores units are among the divisions that are intended to be affected.
Senior Vice President of Applied AI Solutions at Amazon Web Services, Colleen Aubrey, wrote an email to CNBC, “Changes like this are hard on everyone. These decisions are difficult and are made thoughtfully as we position our organization and AWS for future success.”
The note also references a post from Amazon’s HR boss, Beth Galetti, and said the company notified “impacted colleagues in our organization.” The subject of the email includes “Project Dawn,” and the email states it was “canceled,” indicating it was recalled by the sender after the fact. It’s unclear what Project Dawn refers to.
Therefore, Amazon representatives did not respond to a request to comment at first. The job cuts follow after Amazon declared in October that it might lay off 14,000 corporate employees.
The company at the time said the cuts would persist in 2026 when it found “additional places we can remove layers.” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy added that the layoffs were made to reduce management layers and bureaucracy inside the company.
He also expected that last June, the efficiency gains from AI might reduce Amazon’s corporate staff in the coming years. The company reported earlier on Tuesday that it was restructuring its grocery business.
Amazon indicated that it will close its Fresh supermarkets and Go convenience stores to focus on investments in Whole Foods stores and online grocery delivery. Amazon’s top Grocery Executive, Jason Buechel, informed staffers in a memo that the company requires more “deliberate choices” to win over customers.
He also announced additional restructuring initiatives in the division, and he plans to appoint a “grocery quality” leadership role. The firm is scheduled to announce fourth-quarter earnings after the bell on February 5.
