Amazon Begins 16,000 Layoffs: Inside the Email Sent to Employees and What It Means for the Company

Global technology and e-commerce giant Amazon has begun formally notifying employees impacted by its latest round of job cuts, as the company moves ahead with plans to eliminate nearly 16,000 roles across the United States, the United Kingdom, and India.

The layoffs primarily affect Amazon’s corporate workforce and come amid a broader internal restructuring aimed at streamlining operations, cutting costs, and sharpening focus on high-priority areas such as artificial intelligence and cloud services. While Amazon continues to employ more than 1.5 million people globally, its corporate staff accounts for roughly 350,000 employees, making the current cuts one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent months.

Affected employees were informed through an internal email outlining the decision and the support measures being offered during the transition. The message stated that roles were eliminated following an organisational review that assessed long-term priorities and future business needs.

According to the communication, employees whose positions have been cut will receive a 90-day non-working notice period, during which they will continue to receive full pay and benefits. In addition, Amazon has offered severance packages, transitional benefits, external job placement assistance, and 12 months of complimentary access to AWS Skill Builder, aimed at helping impacted staff reskill and explore new opportunities.

The email also clarified that employees would no longer be required to perform any work during the notice period. Badge access to offices has been restricted, meaning those physically present at Amazon offices may need to be escorted out by security. However, affected employees will retain access to internal systems, email, and communication platforms through Amazon’s internal portal during the transition window.

The message was sent by Beth Galetti, Amazon’s Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology, who acknowledged the difficulty of the decision and its impact on employees.

“These decisions weren’t made lightly,” the email noted, adding that the company recognises the uncertainty and emotional toll such announcements can bring. Employees were encouraged to reach out for support through internal human resources channels and employee assistance programmes, which offer confidential and round-the-clock help.

Internal communications indicate that the layoffs span multiple teams, including segments of Amazon Web Services (AWS)—notably units linked to cloud infrastructure, data services, and consulting—as well as parts of Amazon’s retail operations, such as Prime subscriptions and last-mile delivery experience teams.

This marks Amazon’s largest workforce reduction since October, when approximately 14,000 roles were cut. The move reflects a broader trend across the global tech sector, where companies are recalibrating headcount after years of rapid expansion and are increasingly reallocating resources toward artificial intelligence, automation, and efficiency-driven growth.

While Amazon has not publicly detailed how many roles are being cut in each country, the inclusion of India among affected regions has drawn attention, given the company’s significant technology and operations footprint in the country.

As Amazon moves forward with the layoffs, the focus now shifts to how effectively the company supports departing employees and how these changes reshape its internal structure in an increasingly competitive and AI-driven technology landscape.