Amazon layoffs 2025: Employees told they were laid off via text messages

In an unusual turn of events, Amazon employees learned they had been laid off through text messages early on Tuesday, according to reports from Business Insider and people familiar with the matter.

Two messages were sent to affected staff within hours of the company’s announcement of 14,000 global job cuts, part of an ongoing restructuring effort to streamline operations and accelerate innovation driven by artificial intelligence.

The first message instructed employees to check their personal or work email before heading to the office, while the second urged them to call a help desk if they hadn’t received “an email message about your role.”

According to sources cited by Business Insider, the texts were sent shortly after email notifications were issued to avoid the awkward scenario of employees arriving at the office and discovering their access badges had been deactivated. Such incidents have become increasingly common during large-scale layoffs at tech firms including Google and Tesla.

Amazon has not commented publicly on the method used to inform workers.

The layoffs, which primarily affected retail management teams in the United States, continue a trend of workforce reductions within Amazon’s retail division. In an internal message shared on the company’s Slack channel, Beth Galetti, Amazon’s Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology, told affected employees they would continue to receive full pay and benefits for 90 days, along with severance packages.

In a separate blog post, Galetti said the job cuts were part of Amazon’s broader push to become more efficient and agile amid “rapid advances in artificial intelligence.” She noted that while the company remained financially strong, it was essential to adapt quickly to emerging technologies and evolving business priorities.

The move follows similar large-scale layoffs across the global tech sector, as companies reallocate resources toward AI and automation.