Another shocker for so many people working in the US office of Amazon, as the Big Tech company laid off 16000 employees. A spreadsheet was circulated, showcasing the departments from which the people were removed.
But as we all know, letting go is really hard for people. But for the folks actually getting let go, it hits hard.
A female employee who served for around 11 years at Amazon lost her job again!
She shared her story on LinkedIn about how she really felt personally.
In her post, she explained that despite years of loyalty, promotions, and solid reviews, she was removed easily. The emotionally hurtful part was that she worked for years making her team’s systems run smoother, only to watch AI come in and automate everything she’d built.
“I got laid off for the second time at Amazon,” she wrote on her post, as reported by companies.
Her job just faded away as automation took over. Instead of lashing out, she ended her post quietly, saying she’s open to new roles—remote or in-person, whatever comes next.
She is just one of nearly 16,000 people who lost their earnings, caught up in Amazon’s latest round of layoffs. The cuts have hit teams all over the company.
Blaming AI for the layoff
Everyone blames AI for what is happening in the organisation. Nick Plumb, another longtime Amazon employee, took to X to share his side. He spent eight years at the company, leading global AI projects and building systems top execs depended on. For him, the layoff wasn’t about performance—or automation.
“It wasn’t performance, and it wasn’t AI,” he said.
He sees something else at play: companies looking to shed expensive, experienced people to save money. Plumb argues that AI makes for an easy excuse, but the real reasons are all about cost-cutting, global outsourcing, and weak worker protections.
Amazon is cutting roles after reviewing priorities and plans
Amazon, for its part, says the layoffs are part of a bigger restructuring. In internal notes, leadership said they’re cutting roles after reviewing priorities and plans. They want fewer management layers, less red tape, and more ownership. People in the US who got laid off have 90 days to try to move into a different job at Amazon. If that doesn’t work out, they’ll get severance, health benefits, and help finding a new job. Amazon also insists it isn’t planning to announce big layoffs every few months, even as teams keep changing.
Stories of employees are making a lot of noise on social media, and you get a sense of what is going on in tech right now.
Sometimes AI makes jobs disappear quietly. Other times, it’s just about cutting costs, and experience doesn’t count for much. Either way, it’s a tough message: even if you do everything right, your job still isn’t safe.