Amazon unintentionally announces layoffs in mistaken email sent to employees

Amazon has unintentionally informed employees of a new round of global job cuts in an email that appears to have been sent out mistakenly.

The layoffs, referred to in the email as part of “organizational changes” in Amazon’s cloud unit, would affect a group of workers across the US, Canada, and Costa Rica.

Employees at Amazon Web Services (AWS) received a meeting invitation from an executive assistant on Tuesday for the next day that was cancelled, but contained a draft email. The title of the invitation was “Send Project Dawn email,” in reference to the tech giant’s code name for the layoffs. 

According to media reports, the draft email was written by Colleen Aubrey, senior vice president at AWS, and mistakenly said that the impacted employees had been told of their redundancies and were let go as part of ongoing efforts to “strengthen the company.” 

"This is a continuation of the work we've been doing for more than a year to strengthen the company by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy, so that we can move faster for customers," wrote Aubrey in the email, according to media sources including Reuters, the BBC, and the Guardian. 

"Changes like this are hard on everyone. These decisions are difficult and made thoughtfully as we position our organization and AWS for future success," it added. The email also referenced a follow-up message from Amazon’s top HR executive that does not appear to have been sent.

News of the email builds on swirling rumors that Amazon is set to announce another round of job cuts this week. Part of the company’s broader restructuring plans, Amazon is predicted to cut its corporate workforce by at least 30,000 roles.