Amazon has officially announced its intention to reduce its global workforce by 16,000 employees. While specific details regarding the affected regions were not disclosed, reports indicate that the impact on the UK may be limited. Jobs in various sectors such as Amazon Web Services, retail, Prime Video, and human resources are expected to be among those impacted.

This decision follows a previous round of job cuts last October, where the company laid off 14,000 employees. Beth Galetti, Amazon’s Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology, addressed the staff, acknowledging the challenging nature of the news and emphasizing the company’s efforts to support those affected by the layoffs.

Galetti highlighted that approximately 16,000 roles across Amazon would be affected and reassured employees that the company would assist them during this transition period. US employees will be given a 90-day window to seek internal job opportunities before being offered severance packages.

Despite the layoffs, Amazon plans to continue hiring and investing in key areas crucial for its future growth. Galetti emphasized that the company remains committed to evaluating its operations to ensure customer satisfaction and adapt to the rapidly evolving business landscape.

In an unusual turn of events, Amazon inadvertently alerted its Web Services employees about the upcoming layoffs by sending out an email and scheduling a team meeting prematurely. The email, signed by Colleen Aubrey, Senior Vice President of Applied AI Solutions at AWS, mistakenly stated that impacted employees in the US, Canada, and Costa Rica had already been notified of their job losses. The scheduled meeting was subsequently canceled after the error was realized.