As the tech industry grapples with a brutal start to 2026, an Amazon insider has sparked a massive debate on social media platform Team Blind, claiming that the recent job cuts were dictated by finance-led cost-cutting rather than individual performance.
This revelation comes on the heels of Amazon’s January 28 announcement to slash 16,000 roles, following a previous round of 14,000 layoffs in October 2025. While the company maintains these are “organisational changes,” employees are calling out what they describe as a “performance-based” facade used to mask budget-driven terminations.
Insider reveals how employees were selected for lay-off
Social media has since been rife with brokenhearted discussions about “why so many GOOD people got laid off.” One such interaction among techies surfaced this week on Team Blind, an anonymous professional community platform where verified employees discuss careers, workplace dynamics, and more.
A professional from the tech industry listed as an Amazon employee relayed the words shared in the “Amazon private space” by “someone who sat in headcount reviews” to console those affected by the job cuts.
“Layoffs weren’t about who was good or bad,” the Amazon employee wrote. “Finance decided how much money had to be cut first. Teams were picked based on cost.”
The user further highlighted, “managers were told to make it look like a performance thing,” while hiring kept happening in the background and those in leadership roles kept “talking in circles” without actually explaining anything.
Validating the feelings of those devastated by the latest layoff announcement, the Amazon worker said that all such things generally clubbed under the “This is Business” motto, but what made it worse was how people kept pretending this was “fair.”
“Stop acting like people lost their jobs because they didn’t work hard enough,” the Amazon employee continued. “You weren’t judged as a person. You were a number that didn’t fit anymore. If you’re still working, you’re not safe. If you got laid off, it probably wasn’t your fault.”
Asserting this was probably how the whole layoff affair transpired at every organisation, including Amazon, the employee urged those who had been dropped not to be manipulated into thinking they were dealt with that fate because they were “bad.”
“If you were laid off, don’t let it mess with your head or make you second-guess your skills… You were unlucky,” the Amazon techie concluded the post.
While the user’s post didn’t essentially carry any new message, it was enough to fuel a conversation filled with confessions pouring in from all sides of the tech industry. Employees affiliated with companies like Microsoft, Apple, Intel and many more jumped in to share similar accounts.
One such Microsoft techie called “performance issue” being cited as the reason for layoffs as the “ultimate corporate gaslight.” They also added that being “too expensive” usually meant being “actually good at your job.”
2026 Amazon layoffs notice
As highlighted in the “message from Amazon on recent layoff” news release in January, Beth Galetti affirmed that the company was offering most US-based employees 90 days to look for a new role internally.
As for workers who are unable to find a new Amazon role or choose not to look for one, the company offered transition support, including severance pay, outplacement services, health insurance benefits (as applicable), and more.
At the same time, Galetti stated that the company would continue “hiring and investing in strategic areas and functions that are critical to our future” despite the current layoffs.
Addressing anxieties about recurrent layoffs possibly becoming the “new rhythm” at Amazon, she wrote, “That’s not our plan. But just as we always have, every team will continue to evaluate the ownership, speed, and capacity to invent for customers, and make adjustments as appropriate.”
According to global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas’ new data released this Thursday, layoffs announced in January 2026 marked the highest level for the month in 17 years. As highlighted in the report, the surge in job cuts were led by Amazon and UPS, as they were collectively responsible for about 40% of January’s layoffs announcements.
Disclaimer: The content in this article is based on a viral social media discussion and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. The financial figures and strategies mentioned are personal to the user and have not been independently verified. This story does not constitute financial advice or an endorsement of any specific investment strategy.