I was laid off by Amazon on 10/7 after 10 years with the company. I received the notification thru an automated text message and got an email. No phone call, no personal conversation... just an automated note ending a decade of work... To make matters worse I'm currently on maternity leave caring for my newborn and still recovering from a difficult delivery.
I worked as a nontechnical Program Manager in Selling Partner Support ... and throughout my career, I always received performance reviews that exceeded expectations... with only 2 exceptions when I transitioned into new roles. For 10 years straight... My entire team was eliminated as part of a restructuring, so I don't believe I was specifically targeted because of my leave... Amazon has noted that my formal separation will take place after my FMLA leave ends, allowing me to retain my maternity benefits before receiving transition pay+ severance+ payment for unused time off.
What makes this soooo frustrating is that despite my decade of service my compensation remained below the salary range for my role because I originally started as an hourly... I had already been questioning whether returning to Amazon made any financial sense especially with the cost of childcare nowadays...
Yet, I'm trying to find the silver lining. At least, I'll have more time with my baby, and I may help my husband grow his business which he just started... Still, the timing and the impersonal way this was handled are so hard to accept. After 10 years of dedication I expected something better than a dry robotic automated message in the middle of the night (3AM????)
I'm curious whether others at Amazon were affected by the October 7 layoffs, particularly in SPS. Which teams and organizations were impacted?