Mumbai, January 28: Amazon appears to have inadvertently confirmed a new wave of corporate layoffs after an internal email was prematurely sent to employees within its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud-computing division. The communication, which surfaced on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, was intended to announce job cuts scheduled for Wednesday morning but was misfired hours early, causing significant confusion across the company’s global offices.

The email, signed by Colleen Aubrey, Senior Vice President of Applied AI Solutions at AWS, referred to the restructuring initiative as "Project Dawn." The message wrongly suggested that impacted staff in the United States, Canada, and Costa Rica had already been notified of their termination. While a team-wide meeting invitation was also sent out, it was reportedly cancelled almost immediately after the error was realised, according to internal Slack messages. Pinterest Layoffs: Visual Discovery Platform To Cut Under 15% of Workforce To Fuel Artificial Intelligence Pivot, Reduce Office Space.

Amazon Web Services Layoffs

The misfired memo acknowledged that "decisions like this are difficult" and framed the cuts as a move to position AWS for "future success." This latest round of redundancies is expected to hit several key departments, including AWS, the retail division, Prime Video, and human resources. While the exact number of employees affected this week remains unconfirmed, previous reports indicated that thousands of corporate roles were slated for elimination.

The "Project Dawn" initiative follows a significant downsizing in October 2025, when Amazon laid off approximately 14,000 people. Sources familiar with the matter suggest these cuts are part of a broader strategy to reduce the global corporate workforce by roughly 30,000 roles. This would represent nearly 10% of the firm's total corporate staff, as CEO Andy Jassy continues to push for a leaner management structure with fewer layers of bureaucracy.

Amazon Grocery Business Reorganisation

Coinciding with the corporate layoffs, Amazon also announced a major shake-up of its brick-and-mortar grocery operations on Tuesday. The company plans to shutter its Amazon Fresh supermarkets and Amazon Go convenience stores, opting instead to convert several locations into Whole Foods Market outlets. This pivot reflects a shift in strategy to prioritise online delivery and the more established Whole Foods brand over its experimental cashier-less store formats. Tech Layoffs 2026: Amazon, Meta Lead New Wave of Job Cuts as AI Automation and Corporate Restructuring Reshape Industry.

The restructuring comes just ahead of Amazon’s fourth-quarter earnings report, scheduled for February 5. Company executives have previously tied the reduction in headcount to the increased integration of artificial intelligence, which has reportedly streamlined many tasks previously handled by corporate staff. As the company prepares for its Wednesday announcement, employees remain on high alert for official confirmation regarding the full scope of the "Project Dawn" redundancies.

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(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 28, 2026 08:18 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).