Amazon inadvertently announces cloud unit layoffs in email to employees
Amazon logo on brick office building facade with windows, San Francisco, California, Aug. 29, 2025.
Smith Collection | Gado | Archive Photos | Getty Images
Amazon on Tuesday sent a notice out to cloud staffers in an apparent error acknowledging “organizational changes” at the company.
The e-commerce giant is expected to announce widespread layoffs across its corporate workforce as soon as this week, a person familiar with the matter previously told GWN. Amazon’s cloud computing and stores units are among the divisions that are expected to be impacted.
“Changes like this are hard on everyone,” Colleen Aubrey, senior vice president of applied AI solutions at Amazon Web Services, wrote in an email viewed by GWN. “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 mentions “Project Dawn,” and the email says it was “canceled,” possibly indicating it was recalled by the sender after the fact. It’s unclear what Project Dawn refers to.
Representatives from Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The job cuts come after Amazon announced in October that it would lay off 14,000 corporate employees. At the time, the company indicated the cuts would continue in 2026 as it found “additional places we can remove layers.”
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the layoffs were meant to reduce management layers and bureaucracy inside the company. He also predicted last June that efficiency gains from AI would shrink Amazon’s corporate staff in the coming years.
Earlier on Tuesday, the company announced it was reorganizing its grocery business. Amazon said it will shutter its Fresh supermarkets and Go convenience marts to prioritize investments in Whole Foods stores and online grocery delivery.
Amazon’s top grocery executive Jason Buechel told staffers in a memo that the company needs to make more “deliberate choices” to win over customers. He also announced other restructuring moves in the division, including that he plans to appoint a “grocery quality” leadership role.
The company is slated to report fourth-quarter earnings after the bell on Feb. 5.
WATCH: Amazon CEO Andy Jassy: ‘Unprecedented’ how much AI compute is being consumed right now
