In the latest round of layoffs, Amazon laid off 14,000 corporate employees. Since then, many have taken to social media to share their experiences of being affected by the job cuts. People claimed that they received an SMS before receiving the actual layoff email, in which they were asked to check their personal or work email before coming to the office.
SMS creates panic:
“Meanwhile Outlook isn’t working. We love to see it. 3 am is nasty work,” a Reddit user wrote while sharing a screenshot of a text message purportedly from Amazon.
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“From Amazon: Before coming to the office, check personal/work email… including spam, for a message on your role,” the SMS reads. The timestamp on the SMS reads 3 am.
In a follow-up post, the Reddit user recalled the panic they felt after getting the SMS. “Well and the timing. I got this at 3 am and then couldn’t even get into outlook even with the link in the text. I was spiraling bricked out of my laptop, slack, email, everything. Eventually I got the email on my personal account and saw further directions to access my work email for documents related to the lay off. This was sloppy.”
Laid off at 3 am:
In a post on LinkedIn, another employee, who was also affected by the layoff, shared a similar narrative. “Closing One Chapter, Opening Another. At around 3 AM this morning, I received the news like many others did as well that after 3 incredible years, my journey with Amazon is coming to an end.”
{{/usCountry}}In a post on LinkedIn, another employee, who was also affected by the layoff, shared a similar narrative. “Closing One Chapter, Opening Another. At around 3 AM this morning, I received the news like many others did as well that after 3 incredible years, my journey with Amazon is coming to an end.”
{{/usCountry}}“Working at Amazon has been more than a job it’s been a masterclass in growth, leadership, and resilience. I’ve had the privilege of managing accounts, building partnerships, and helping customers succeed in fast-moving, high-impact environments. I’m deeply grateful for the experience, the colleagues who became friends, and the lessons that will stay with me long after this chapter closes,” the employee continued on LinkedIn.
HT.com has reached out to Amazon and will update this report when the company responds.
What did social media say?
The posts about receiving text messages at 3 am prompted people to post a variety of comments. An individual posted, “That is brutal.”
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Another commented, “It’s crazy how they said ‘check your email before going to the office’, it's pretty insensitive, I think.” A third added, “Heartless.” A fourth wrote, “That's a s**tty way to inform people.”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)