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Thousands of Amazon employees were abruptly notified of their job termination through pre-dawn text messages — a move that has reignited criticism over the tech giant’s impersonal layoff practices.
In a surprising turn of events, Amazon employees across multiple teams woke up to text messages informing them that their roles had been eliminated. The early morning notifications marked another wave of mass layoffs at the company, impacting around 14,000 workers globally.
According to Business Insider, affected employees received two text messages within minutes of each other. The first urged them to check their personal or work email before coming into the office, while the second provided a help desk number for those who had not received “an email message about your role.” The texts followed email notifications, a move reportedly meant to prevent confusion since affected employees’ office badges were already deactivated.
This method of communication has drawn widespread criticism for its impersonal approach, highlighting a growing trend among tech giants like Google and Tesla, where employees have found themselves locked out of systems overnight without prior notice.
The layoffs primarily targeted Amazon’s retail management teams as part of the company’s ongoing efforts to “streamline operations” and “innovate faster.” In an internal message, Amazon’s HR chief, Beth Galetti, acknowledged the difficulty of the decision but assured workers that they would receive full pay and benefits for 90 days, along with severance and career transition support.
“We didn’t make these decisions lightly,” Galetti wrote. “We’re committed to supporting you throughout this transition.”
In a blog post, Galetti further noted that artificial intelligence has been reshaping how Amazon operates. “This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet,” she wrote. “It’s enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before.”
The internal email accessed by Business Insider detailed next steps for laid-off employees, including access to Amazon’s A to Z app and MyHR for retrieving belongings, returning equipment, and seeking assistance.
Despite the layoffs, analysts predict Amazon is heading into a record-breaking holiday quarter, with projected sales exceeding $140 billion. However, the company faces increasing pressure to remain lean and competitive amid the rise of AI-driven automation.
