It’s Wednesday, January 28, 2026, and if you’re working at Amazon Web Services (AWS), “Dawn” just broke a little too early. At roughly 5:00 AM Pacific Time, an assistant accidentally fired off a calendar invite titled “Send Project Dawn email.” The thing is, “Project Dawn” is the internal codename for a massive, unannounced wave of 16,000 corporate layoffs. Or nothing.
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The “Project Dawn” Leak: Field Notes
It’s an ongoing situation where the “secret” restructuring is now the talk of every Slack channel in the company. Here’s the ground reality:
The Mistake: Colleen Aubrey, a Senior VP at AWS, was supposed to send this at 9:00 AM today (Wednesday). Instead, it went out late Tuesday. The email wrongly stated that employees in the US, Canada, and Costa Rica had already been informed they were out. The thing is, they hadn’t been.
The “Tsunami” Scale: This is the second half of a massive push to cut 30,000 corporate roles by mid-2026. Amazon already chopped 14,000 in October 2025. This fresh batch of 16,000 makes it the largest layoff in Amazon’s 30-year history. Let’s be real—even if you survive this, the “culture” is feeling pretty thin.
The Impact Zones: While AWS is the primary profit engine, it’s being hit hard this time along with Prime Video, Retail, and the PXT (HR) divisions. Those too.
India is in the Crosshairs: Unlike the October cuts, teams in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai are expected to see heavy losses this time. It’s an ongoing situation where global support roles are being “streamlined” out of existence. Or nothing.
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Amazon Layoff Tracker (Jan 28, 2026)
| Metric | Details |
| Project Codename | Project Dawn |
| Total Jobs at Risk | 16,000 (This round) / 30,000 (Total 2025-26) |
| Key Affected Hubs | US, Canada, Costa Rica, India (Bengaluru/Hyderabad) |
| Key Reason (Official) | “Removing bureaucracy and management layers” |
| Key Reason (Unofficial) | Massive AI automation and cost-cutting for GPU clusters |
And Here’s the Kicker…
CEO Andy Jassy has been telling analysts that these cuts aren’t “AI-driven,” but the thing is, internal HR memos suggest otherwise. They’re basically using AI to automate the very HR and administrative tasks that these 16,000 people used to do. Those too.
One side comment—the meeting invite was canceled almost as fast as it was sent, but the damage to morale is done. Employees on Blind and Reddit are calling it a “clumsy execution of a brutal plan.” It’s an ongoing situation where thousands are now sitting at their desks just waiting for the real email to hit their inbox. Or nothing.
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End…
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