Amazon's AI Accidentally Leaked the Layoffs of 16,000 Employees

The Email That Wasn't Supposed to Go Out Until Tomorrow

I won't sugarcoat it: what happened on January 27, 2026, is a corporate communications disaster that will go down in HR history books.

An executive assistant at Amazon Web Services accidentally attached an internal email to a calendar invite titled "Send Project Dawn email." The message, signed by Colleen Aubrey (Senior Vice President of Applied AI Solutions at AWS), revealed that thousands of employees would be laid off the next day.

The problem: the official communication was scheduled for January 28 at 5 a.m. Pacific Time. The email arrived a day early.

Within minutes, screenshots were circulating through Slack channels with over 36,000 employees. One worker commented bitterly: "Looks like they wanted to use AI to send the email tomorrow and instead it sent a calendar invite today."

The irony wasn't lost on anyone: Amazon, the company that sells AI as the solution to all business problems, fell victim to an automation error at the most critical moment possible.

Project Dawn: The Code Name for 30,000 Layoffs

Project Dawn isn't just another round of cuts. It's the most aggressive restructuring in Amazon's history.

The Numbers Amazon Didn't Want You to See Yet

To put this in perspective: Amazon will lay off more people in 6 months than the population of cities like Boulder, Colorado, or Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The Affected Divisions

The leaked email confirmed that cuts affect:

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) - The golden goose, now with fewer geese
• Retail - E-commerce operations
• Prime Video - Streaming
• Human Resources - The irony of HR laying off HR
• Amazon Fresh and Go - Physical stores (some closing entirely)

What's NOT affected: the 1.5 million warehouse and fulfillment employees. The ones loading boxes are safe. The ones writing code? Not so much.

The Official Response: "It's Not About Money, It's About Bureaucracy"

Andy Jassy, Amazon's CEO, has been clear on his position: these layoffs "aren't really financial or about AI," but rather about eliminating excessive bureaucracy.

His stated vision: turning Amazon into "the world's largest startup."

My verdict is clear: it's hard to be a startup when you have 1.5 million employees and brought in $575 billion last year.

Beth Galetti, SVP of People Experience, sent a memo to employees with the official version:

"The reductions we are making today will impact approximately 16,000 roles across Amazon. We've been working to strengthen our organization by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy."

U.S. employees will have 90 days to find an internal role. Those not placed will receive severance, outplacement services, and health insurance.

One phrase from the memo caught my attention: "We're not trying to create a new rhythm of layoffs every few months... That's not our plan."

Given that Amazon has laid off staff every quarter since 2022, the credibility of that statement is questionable.

The Track Record: 57,000 Layoffs in 4 Years

Project Dawn didn't come out of nowhere. Amazon has been in "optimization mode" for years.

Layoff Timeline 2022-2026

Over 57,000 corporate employees have lost their jobs at Amazon since 2022. For context, that's more than the entire headcount of companies like Adobe or Salesforce.

The AWS Paradox: The Profit Engine That's Also Laying Off

Here's the contradiction no one at Amazon wants to explain.

AWS is, by far, Amazon's most profitable business:

AWS generates between 50% and 70% of Amazon's profits while being only 17% of revenue. It's the golden goose.

And yet, AWS is one of the divisions most affected by Project Dawn.

If you ask me directly: aggressively laying off in your most profitable division while announcing record investments of $125 billion in AI and data centers for 2026 is a contradiction that only makes sense if you view employees as costs to optimize, not assets that generate value.

The Reactions: From Outrage to Sarcasm

On Reddit

Users didn't take long to point out Amazon's corporate framing. One viral comment read:

"30,000 lives will be 'malformed, not transformed.' But hey, at least AI is progressing."

Another user summarized the general sentiment:

"Amazon says it wants to be 'the world's largest startup.' Startups don't lay off 30,000 people. Startups go bankrupt before reaching that point."

On Internal Slack

According to sources cited by CNBC, Slack channels with 36,000+ members filled with:

• Screenshots of the leaked email
• Speculation about whether an "AI glitch" caused the premature send
• Employees asking if their roles were affected
• Gallows humor about job hunting at Google or Microsoft

On the Stock Market

Amazon shares fell -0.42% after the announcement. Not a dramatic drop, but social sentiment fell to -0.15 (negative) compared to a quarterly average of +0.12.

Analysts, however, remain optimistic. Bank of America named Amazon its "top mega-cap pick" for 2026, with an average price target of $295 (23% above the current price).

The moral: Wall Street applauds when you lay people off. Employees, less so.

The Elephant in the Room: Is AI to Blame?

Amazon insists Project Dawn "isn't about AI." But the numbers tell a different story.

AI Investment vs Layoffs

Amazon is investing $125 billion while laying off 30,000 people. The "eliminating bureaucracy" narrative is convenient, but the math suggests a deliberate substitution of humans for AI infrastructure.

Andy Jassy has said explicitly in earnings calls: he wants Amazon to "move faster for customers" and has created a "no bureaucracy email alias" for employees to report inefficiencies.

Translation: if your job can be automated, it probably will be.

What This Means for Affected Employees

The Severance Package

According to Beth Galetti's memo:

• 90 days to find an internal role at Amazon
• Severance pay for those not placed
• Outplacement services (help finding work)
• Temporary health insurance

The Reality of the 2026 Tech Job Market

The 16,000 employees losing their jobs this week join a tech job market that's already saturated.

According to Layoffs.fyi data, over 500,000 tech workers have been laid off since 2022. Competition for senior roles at AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure will be brutal.

My advice for those affected: don't wait for Amazon to find you an internal role. Start updating LinkedIn today.

The Questions Amazon Doesn't Want to Answer

1. Why was the email sent early? Amazon hasn't explained whether it was human error or an automation failure.

2. Why lay off AWS if it's so profitable? The division generates 50-70% of profits. Aggressive layoffs there seem counterproductive.

3. Will there be more layoffs after May? The memo says it's "not the plan," but Amazon's track record suggests otherwise.

4. How much will Amazon actually save? The company hasn't revealed the projected financial impact of Project Dawn.

5. What happens to laid-off employees' projects? Thousands of in-development projects will be left without owners or cancelled.

My Final Analysis

After years covering the tech sector, here's what I see in Project Dawn:

It's not a layoff, it's a forced transformation. Amazon is redesigning its structure to rely less on middle managers and more on automated systems. The 30,000 employees losing their jobs are the cost of that transition.

The email leak is symptomatic. A company that prides itself on technological efficiency shouldn't make such basic communication errors. Having a layoff email reach 36,000 employees early is embarrassing.

Wall Street will applaud, employees will pay. Amazon stock will likely rise as Project Dawn "savings" materialize. But 30,000 families will have to reinvent their careers.

The "eliminating bureaucracy" narrative is convenient but incomplete. Amazon is investing $125 billion in AI while laying off tens of thousands. That's not organizational optimization—it's workforce substitution.

If you ask me directly: Project Dawn is the future of employment at Big Tech. Record infrastructure investment, record personnel layoffs. Companies are betting that AI can do humans' jobs.

For the 16,000 employees who learned about their layoff from a leaked email: I'm sorry. You deserved better communication and more respect.

For those still working at Amazon: update your resumes. If Project Dawn teaches us anything, it's that no one is safe.

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Do you work at Amazon and want to share your experience with Project Dawn? Write to us. Your anonymity is guaranteed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many employees will Amazon lay off in 2026?

Amazon plans to lay off approximately 30,000 corporate employees during 2026, divided into two waves: 16,000 in January and the remainder before May. This represents roughly 10% of their corporate workforce of 350,000-370,000 employees.

What is Amazon's Project Dawn?

Project Dawn is Amazon's internal code name for its massive restructuring initiative. The project aims to reduce management layers, consolidate teams with duplicate functions, and eliminate what Amazon calls "bureaucracy" to "move faster for customers."

Why did Amazon's layoff email leak?

An AWS executive assistant accidentally attached an internal email to a calendar invite titled "Send Project Dawn email." The message was sent a day before the scheduled official communication, and screenshots quickly spread through Slack channels with over 36,000 employees.

Which Amazon divisions are affected by the layoffs?

The layoffs primarily affect Amazon Web Services (AWS), Retail, Prime Video, Human Resources, and physical stores Amazon Fresh and Go. The 1.5 million warehouse and fulfillment employees are not affected.

What severance will laid-off Amazon employees receive?

According to the official memo, U.S. employees will have 90 days to find an internal role. Those not placed will receive severance pay, outplacement services to find new employment, and temporary health insurance coverage.