January rundown: Amazon layoffs and the return of XPS

(Image credit: Future)

January is supposed to be a month full of new starts and potential, in which we try to embrace resolutions or set out our plans for the year ahead.

But in the tech sector, it’s become something of an ominous month – the start of layoff season. January 2026 has been no different, with Amazon announcing 16,000 jobs cut in a plan that could see up to 30,000 cut by the end of May according to Reuters.

Earlier in the month, Dell made waves at CES 2026 with the news that it’s reviving the XPS laptop line, just one year on from its announcement that the brand would be deprecated. What can we make of the job cuts and of Dell's reversal?

In this episode, Rory welcomes back Ross Kelly, ITPro's news and analysis editor, to explore some of January's biggest stories.

Highlights

"What we do know is that this could reach 30,000 and reporting from the BBC suggests that insiders have had a bit of an inkling that there have been job cuts on the horizon over the last couple of weeks. It's also worth noting that in October, Amazon cut more staff – again, this was part of a big efficiency drive."

"I think there is a risk this might open the floodgates potentially for another really bad year in tech layoffs. You know we're in January, the first month, and Amazon's cut 16,000 staff. And the number could reach as high as 30,000. There might be a few other organizations keeping their finger on the pulse and seeing, you know, how is this going to unfold for for AWS and and co and can we follow suit?"

"When you look at consumer sentiment on this, the XPS is an iconic brand. It's a name that everybody across the enterprise and consumer markets has known for the best part of two decades."

"So from the beginning of this AI PC craze, I think the big talking point from our perspective has been the enterprise space and there are tangible benefits here, there's a lot of benefits for organizations. These are devices that IT teams, security leaders, IT leaders are going to be very interested in, whereas, when you're talking about shiny new AI features that run in the background for consumers I think the messaging has been botched there."

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Rory Bathgate was Features and Multimedia Editor at ITPro until 2026, overseeing all in-depth content and case studies. He also co-hosted the ITPro Podcast with Jane McCallion, swapping a keyboard for a microphone to discuss the latest learnings with thought leaders from across the tech sector.

In his free time, Rory enjoys photography, video editing, and good science fiction. After graduating from the University of Kent with a BA in English and American Literature, Rory undertook an MA in Eighteenth-Century Studies at King’s College London. He joined ITPro in 2022 as a graduate, following four years in student journalism. You can contact Rory on LinkedIn.

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