Amazon announced plans on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, to reduce its workforce by approximately 16,000 employees. The cuts are part of an effort to streamline the company's organizational structure, according to an email sent to staff by Beth Galetti, a senior vice president at Amazon.
The company stated that the reductions would impact roughly 16,000 roles across Amazon. Galetti's email indicated that the company is "working to strengthen our organization by reducing layers" and "bureaucracy" within its workforce. Amazon said it is "working hard to support everyone whose role is impacted."
The announcement comes as other news events unfold across the country. In Minneapolis, demonstrations against immigration enforcement continued, with over 3,000 arrests made in Minnesota, according to DHS reports. Indivisible, a liberal grassroots group, is planning a large-scale national demonstration on March 28, focusing particularly on Minnesota, which has become a focal point for anti-immigration enforcement protests. The event, referred to as "No Kings 3," is expected to include demonstrations across the country.
Meanwhile, tensions remained high between the United States and Iran. President Donald Trump urged Iran to "come to the table" as the U.S. deployed a "massive armada" to the region. Trump confirmed that the USS Abraham Lincoln and its strike group were being deployed as a direct threat to the Iranian regime. He stated that a major attack may be necessary if Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's regime does not make a deal with the U.S., saying, "A massive Armada is heading to Iran. It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose."
In New York City, the aftermath of a winter storm resulted in ten deaths, including that of a 90-year-old woman with dementia. Doreen Ellis wandered outside her apartment in Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood during the frigid temperatures and was found dead in a nearby backyard on Monday morning, according to her family and neighbors. A neighbor told Gothamist, "She had done that wandered out before, but this was in the summertime. Being that it's cold, you dont think that somebody will go outside."
In other news, National Education Association President Becky Pringle was scheduled to speak at a virtual event on Wednesday titled "Roadmap to Political Revolution," hosted by the Sunrise Movement. The event aimed to address immigration enforcement under the Trump administration. A description of the event stated, "Its time we dream and organize at the scale that Trump and billionaires are creating nightmares. 2026 is the year we break it all open."
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