Amazon just confirmed it will cut 16,000 jobs. This news came out right after the company sent an email by mistake to workers about the layoffs. It happened late Tuesday, and by Wednesday morning, the official word was out. People are talking a lot about it because this is another big round of cuts at the huge online store.
The email went out by accident. It talked about laying off many employees in the US, Canada, and Costa Rica. The message said the moves would help “strengthen the company” by cutting red tape, making people more responsible, and moving faster for customers. Amazon pulled it back quickly when they saw the error, but the damage was doneโword spread fast.
CEO Andy Jassy is behind this push. He took over from Jeff Bezos a few years back. Jassy has been making big changes to make Amazon leaner. He wants less hierarchy and quicker decisions. Before Thanksgiving last year, he sent an email to staff saying the world moves fast now, and it’s time to rethink everything they’ve done. He thanked people for handling tough times.
This isn’t the first time. Last October, Amazon cut 14,000 corporate jobs like managers and sales roles. Beth Galetti, who handles employee experience, said most teams finished their changes back then, but some just wrapped up now. She added they don’t plan big cuts every few months.
The layoffs hit corporate workers mostly. Amazon has about 1.5 million people worldwide, with 350,000 in office-type jobs. Affected folks can apply for open spots inside the company, but there aren’t many. If they don’t find one, they get severance based on how long they’ve worked there.
Amazon also said it will close around 70 of its own grocery storesโAmazon Fresh and Amazon Go. Instead, it will grow the Whole Foods brand it owns. That’s part of shifting focus.
On the delivery side, things are changing too. Amazon has built its own shipping network big time. In 2024, it handled 6.3 billion deliveries in the USโmore than UPS or FedEx. Experts think by 2028, Amazon could even beat the US Postal Service in package volume.
That’s bad news for UPS. The big delivery company said it will cut up to 30,000 jobs in 2026. They blame lower shipments from Amazon. UPS calls those deliveries bad for profits. Last year, they already cut 48,000 jobs and closed 93 places. Now they plan to shut 24 more this first half of the year. Their CEO, Carol Tomรฉ, said they’re in the last months of cutting Amazon packages fast. For all of 2026, they want to drop another million packages a day while fixing their network to focus on better clients like health care.
An ex-Amazon worker who asked not to be named said staff expected around 30,000 cuts this time. They thought another big wave would hit late May.
These moves show how fast tech and delivery worlds are changing. Amazon wants to stay strong in cloud services through AWS and keep growing its own way. But for thousands of workers, it’s tough news. Many feel the stress of job worries in a company that used to feel super stable.
Layoffs like this make headlines because Amazon touches so many livesโshoppers, sellers, drivers, and office staff. It reminds everyone that even big companies adjust when times shift. People watch to see if more changes come or if things settle down. For now, the focus is on those losing jobs and how they’ll move forward. It’s a reminder that the job market can surprise you, even at the biggest names.