Re:Amazon axes 16,000 jobs as it pushes AI and efficiency
by _heimdall on Wednesday January 28, 2026 @07:22PM
(#46803853)
Unless I'm mistaken, isn't it illegal to base layoffs on individual performance? My understanding was that it can't legally be considered a layoff unless it meets pretty strict selection requirements at the group level (cutting orgs, cutting a "random" % of a role or org to reduce headcount, etc).
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Re:Amazon axes 16,000 jobs as it pushes AI and efficiency
by HaloZero on Wednesday January 28, 2026 @08:03PM
(#46804275)
Not sure why that would illegal? Your own performance isn’t protected in anyway as a class that you can’t control. I know Lyft 100% laid off people not hitting meets expectations in 2020 first
Re:Amazon axes 16,000 jobs as it pushes AI and efficiency
by dboreham on Wednesday January 28, 2026 @08:18PM
(#46804407)
In the US, saying that "your job has been eliminated" mitigates various legal risks (discrimination lawsuits for example). So although companies can do pretty much WTF they want, they also don't like being sued.
Re:Amazon axes 16,000 jobs as it pushes AI and efficiency
by _heimdall on Thursday January 29, 2026 @08:49AM
(#46810163)
Again I am no expert here, this is just my understanding after being in the industry for a couple decades.
As far as I'm aware, there's a fine line between layoffs or reductions in force and firing for poor performance. Its legal to cut an entire division, or to cut some percentage of a division's head count and come up with some way of distributing it across the org. It is not legal to find your worst performers, fire them all at once, and call it a layoff.
Happy to be wrong here though, just trying to be clear with the line as I understand it. Someone coming by may know for sure.