In a stunning misstep that has sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley, Amazon has unintentionally disclosed an expansive new round of layoffs via an erroneously sent email.
This gaffe has unveiled “Project Dawn,” a clandestine initiative designed to reduce the workforce by thousands across the tech behemoth’s worldwide operations.
The turmoil ignited on Tuesday when employees at Amazon Web Services (AWS) received a meeting invitation accompanied by a draft email erroneously signed by Colleen Aubrey, the Senior Vice President of Applied AI Solutions.
The email mistakenly proclaimed that personnel in the US, Canada, and Costa Rica had been “already informed” of their impending layoffs, plunging the workforce into a tumult of bewilderment and trepidation.
“Changes Like This Are Hard”
The misdirected email, which was promptly retracted but not before being captured as screenshots and disseminated on Slack, employed typical corporate platitudes to convey the distressing information. “Changes like this are hard on everyone,” wrote Aubrey.
“These decisions are challenging and made with great deliberation as we align our organization and AWS for future success.”
This slip confirms the swirling conjectures from recent weeks: Amazon’s cost-cutting campaign is far from over. Following the elimination of 14,000 corporate positions last October, the company is now zeroing in on its cloud computing sector, AWS, which has been grappling with diminishing growth and escalating rivalry from Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.
- The Extent of the Restructuring: Insiders hint that “Project Dawn” is targeting non-engineering positions in human resources, sales, and marketing, alongside specific “low-margin” sectors within AWS. Although the email explicitly referenced the US, Canada, and Costa Rica, sources in Europe express concerns that they may be next in line.
- The Emotional Toll: “It’s psychological warfare,” remarked a Seattle-based engineer who received the erroneous email. “We find ourselves refreshing our inboxes, anxiously awaiting confirmation of our job status. Sending a termination email by mistake is a new low, even for Amazon.”
A Paradigm Shift Driven by AI
The rationale behind these layoffs is inextricably linked to the ascendance of Artificial Intelligence. Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, has been forthright about “efficiency” and the imperative to redirect resources toward Generative AI. Ironically, the same division spearheading this initiative—Applied AI Solutions—is overseeing the layoffs.
Though Amazon has since scrapped the meeting alluded to in the email, the repercussions are palpable. Employee morale at the Seattle headquarters has plummeted, leading individuals to vocally criticize leadership on internal platforms.
Amidst a turbulent tech landscape that continues to shed jobs in 2026, the “Project Dawn” affair serves as a stark reminder of the instability woven into employment during the algorithmic era.
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