Corporate employees: Check your RSU cliff now — unvested Amazon stock is forfeited at termination. Don't sign severance before checking your vest schedule.
Built for Amazon corporate employees

Laid off from Amazon? Here's what to do in the next 72 hours.

Amazon's latest round eliminated 14,000+ corporate jobs (January 2026), on top of 14,000 from October 2025. If you're corporate — not warehouse — you likely have equity at risk, a state UI portal to navigate, and a benefits decision to make before the window closes.

Your deadlines — starting now
Get your personalized Amazon corporate layoff action plan — free to start

No credit card. No account. 48-hour money-back guarantee on the $99 full plan.

What to do in your first 72 hours post-Amazon

Hours 0–2 · Before anything else

Check your RSU cliff — this is the #1 issue

Amazon RSU vesting has a 1-year cliff followed by quarterly or monthly vesting through year 4. If you're laid off before your cliff date or before vesting completes, unvested RSUs are gone.

Pull your equity grant agreement now — before you sign anything. Some Amazon employees have acceleration provisions that apply in layoffs. The difference between checking now vs. after signing can be tens of thousands of dollars.

Hours 2–4 · Urgent

File unemployment — your state portal

Your portal depends on where you live:
Washington: esd.wa.gov (Seattle / Bellevue HQ)
California: edd.ca.gov
New York: labor.ny.gov

Every day you delay is $200–$500 gone. Most states have a one-week waiting period.

Hours 4–24 · Critical

Review severance — confirm VCP status

Amazon corporate severance is typically 2–4 weeks per year of service. Some employees received VCP (Voluntary Severance Program) offers — confirm whether you accepted one and what it included.

Don't sign severance on day one. You typically have 14–21 days to review. If you're 40+, OWBPA requires at least 45 days for age-related waivers.

Day 2 · Financial triage

Map your bills by consequence, not by amount

Housing first. Utilities second. Credit cards third — they're the most flexible. Do not pay credit cards before rent because the minimums feel manageable. Mortgage or rent foreclosure has a 30–90 day lag; credit cards don't knock that fast.

Day 3 · Call your creditors

Hardship programs exist — most people never call

Mortgage servicers, auto lenders, and credit card issuers all have documented hardship programs. They are not advertised. You have to call and use specific language. Forbearance, deferral, and reduced-rate programs are available — they don't get offered, they get requested.

Day 3 · Know your runway

Calculate your real runway before touching any savings

Unemployment income + severance payout math + mandatory expenses = actual runway. This is the number that drives every subsequent decision: when to accept an offer, when to negotiate, when to cut. Most people skip this and operate on anxiety instead of data.

What's specific to your situation

Amazon corporate employees have specific issues to handle

The world's largest corporate layoff in history has specific features that change your playbook. Warehouse employees have different rules — this page is for corporate.

📊

RSU cliff — the #1 issue for corporate employees

Amazon RSU vesting has a 1-year cliff followed by quarterly or monthly vesting through year 4. If you're laid off before your cliff date or before vesting completes, unvested RSUs are forfeited. Check your exact vest schedule now — before you sign anything. Some grants have acceleration provisions triggered by layoffs.

🏢

Corporate vs. warehouse — different rules

This page is for corporate employees. Warehouse/fulfillment center employees have different pay structures, different severance (often none), and different unemployment rules. If you're corporate — engineering, ops, HR, finance — keep reading. Warehouse employees should still file unemployment regardless of classification.

💰

Severance and VCP

Amazon corporate severance is typically 2–4 weeks per year of service. Some employees received VCP (Voluntary Severance Program) offers — confirm whether you accepted one and what it included. VCP acceptance may affect your legal rights differently than a standard layoff.

🏥

COBRA vs. ACA marketplace

You have 60 days from your coverage end date to elect COBRA. Coverage is retroactive to your last day of coverage if you enroll in time. ACA Marketplace opens a simultaneous special enrollment period — plans may be significantly cheaper than COBRA depending on your projected income and state.

Bill-by-bill action items, creditor scripts, and your full 72-hour timeline

The free triage gives you the framework. The $99 plan is built around your exact bills, your equity cliff, your state, and generates the action calendar for your situation.

01

Personalized 72-hour action calendar

Hour-by-hour timeline built around your actual deadlines — not a generic checklist.

02

Creditor call scripts — 14+ types

Exact language for mortgage servicers, auto lenders, credit cards, utilities, student loans. What to say, what to ask for.

03

State unemployment filing guide

Direct links to WA, CA, NY portals. Documents to gather before you call. Common mistakes that reset your waiting period.

04

COBRA vs. ACA decision tree with deadline math

The actual cost comparison for your situation — not a generic breakdown. Deadlines you cannot miss.

05

Bill prioritization — ranked by consequence

Housing first. Then utilities. Then everything else. Grace periods, negotiability, and when each escalates.

06

Severance review checklist

What to read before you sign. Clauses that give up more than you realize. Questions to ask HR before the window closes.

Start Free — Unlock Full Plan for $99 →

No credit card to start. 48-hour money-back guarantee on the paid plan.

Common questions

Questions specific to Amazon corporate employees

The answers matter more when the stakes are this high.

Unvested RSUs are forfeited at termination unless your equity agreement includes an acceleration provision. Review your grant agreement for change-in-control or termination acceleration clauses. For employees laid off mid-cycle, the difference between checking your vest schedule before vs. after signing can be worth tens of thousands of dollars. Don't assume zero — check the document.

Yes. This page is for corporate employees. Warehouse/fulfillment employees typically don't receive severance and are covered by different unemployment rules. File unemployment through your state's UI agency regardless — eligibility varies by state and employment classification. Corporate employees should check their equity agreements and confirm their VCP status before making any financial decisions.

One missed unemployment filing week: $400–$800. One missed COBRA window: thousands in uncovered medical costs. One severance clause you didn't read: potentially tens of thousands. The $99 isn't a purchase you make out of abundance — it's the cheapest line item in a week where every wrong move compounds. If it doesn't pay for itself in the first 48 hours, email us. Full refund.

No. Runway72 is a playbook and a set of scripts — you execute. We tell you what order to call creditors, what to say when you get them on the phone, and what deadlines you cannot miss. We don't give personalized investment advice, legal counsel, or tax guidance. We tell you when you need someone who does. We're faster than a financial advisor, available now, and you don't need an appointment.

48 hours, no questions. Email us at support@runway72.polsia.app within 48 hours of purchase and we'll refund you in full. We'd rather refund someone who didn't find it useful than keep $99 from a person already under financial stress.

The first 72 hours determine
your next 6 months.

Every day you delay costs real money. Unemployment, COBRA, severance — these windows don't wait. Start now.

Free to start. $99 for the full personalized plan.