As Amazon lays off 16,000 employees, here's the email it sent to affected staff: 'These decisions weren’t made lightly'

Affected employees have been told that they would continue to receive full pay and benefits for a 90-day non-working period.

Amazon has begun notifying corporate employees affected by its latest round of layoffs, after announcing plans to cut 16,000 roles across the US, UK and India, as the tech giant looks to streamline operations and sharpen its focus amid rising competition in artificial intelligence.

The email was sent on Wednesday by Beth Galetti, Amazon’s Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology. (REUTERS)

According to an internal email viewed by Business Insider, the notifications were sent on Wednesday by Beth Galetti, Amazon’s Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology. It informed impacted employees that their roles were being eliminated following an organisational review. Employees were told they would continue to receive full pay and benefits for a 90-day non-working period, along with severance and other support.

“I have some important, but difficult, news to share with you,” the email said, according to a report by Business Insider. “After a thorough review of our organization, our priorities, and what we need to focus on going forward, we've made the hard business decision to eliminate some roles across Amazon. Unfortunately, your role is being eliminated as part of these changes, and your employment will end after a notification period,” it continued.

The email further outlined multiple forms of support, including a severance package and transitional benefits, external job placement assistance, and 12 months of complimentary access to AWS Skill Builder. Employees were also told they would no longer be required to work during the notice period.

Read the email Amazon sent to laid-off employees

In her email to impacted staff, Galetti wrote, “I have some important, but difficult, news to share with you. After a thorough review of our organization, our priorities, and what we need to focus on going forward, we’ve made the hard business decision to eliminate some roles across Amazon. Unfortunately, your role is being eliminated as part of these changes and your employment will end after a notification period.”

“These decisions weren’t made lightly, and we recognize the significant impact they have. We’re committed to supporting you through this transition with: A non-working period with your full pay and benefits, a severance package offer and transitional benefits, external job placement support and 12 months of complimentary access to AWS Skill Builder,” she added.

The email informed that impacted employees are no longer required to perform on Amazon’s behalf. It also stated that their badge access had already been restricted, meaning those physically present in the office would need to be escorted out by security. The transition process will be handled through Amazon’s A to Z portal, and laid-off staff will retain email and internal communication access during the 90-day period, it said.

“We appreciate that this is a difficult update to receive and have shared answers to some of the most common questions related to your pay, benefits, support resources, and next steps below. Remember that caring team members are ready to assist you 24/7 through MyHR or the Employee Assistance Portal (EAP), offering free and confidential support, both available within A to Z. I’m personally committed to making sure you get the help you need as you navigate this change. Please just reply to this email if you run into any trouble at all getting what you need—whether that’s connectivity issues, questions about next steps, or any other concerns,” Galetti wrote.

Amazon layoff

Notably, internal Slack messages reviewed by Business Insider suggest the layoffs span several teams, including those within Amazon Web Services (AWS) such as the AI cloud service Bedrock, the Redshift cloud data warehouse, and the ProServe consulting unit. Retail-side teams, including Prime subscriptions and the last-mile Delivery Experience group, are also understood to be affected.

This marks Amazon’s largest round of layoffs since October, when the company cut around 14,000 roles. While Amazon employs over 1.5 million people globally, its corporate workforce accounts for roughly 350,000 employees.