Amazon fires 16000: We have difficult news… email tells employees about their severance, here are details

Amazon has begun notifying employees affected by its latest round of layoffs, with emails outlining severance packages, their access card functionality, paid transition periods and job placement support. The company has officially confirmed cutting 16,000 roles globally as part of a wider organisational reset.

Amazon has begun informing employees affected by its latest round of layoffs, with impacted staff receiving emails confirming the end of their services after a short notification period. The official communication outlines a severance package, a paid non-working transition period, continued access to benefits and internal systems, as well as job placement support while the company moves ahead with cutting 16,000 roles globally. The “final” email also informs employees that their access badges have been revoked and that security would escort them out of the office.

Although, once out of the office they will continue to access some internal Amazon employee channels. They will also continue to be part of the company for sometime, but they will not be able to visit office. They will also be not required to work.

The latest cuts by the e-commerce giant were officially announced on Wednesday, January 28, through a blog post by Amazon’s chief people officer Beth Galetti.

Emails that went out in parallel of the public announcement gave details of what employees are getting as part of severance package from Amazon. “We have some important, but difficult, news to share with you. After a thorough review of our organisation, our priorities, and what we need to focus on going forward, we've made the hard business decision to eliminate some roles across Amazon. Unfortunately, your role is being eliminated as part of these changes and your employment will end after a notification period,” noted the emails.

So, what all Amazon employees are getting as part of severance? It depends likely on the place where the employee was based and their seniority level. But some emails indicate broadly the following:

— A non-working transition period of 90 days. In these 90 days employees will be unable to visit office and also they will not be required to work. But they will receive full pay and benefits. “As of now, you are no longer required to perform work on Amazon's behalf and will continue to receive your full pay and benefits for the next 90 days,” note the emails that have been sent to employees.