Met Gala 2026: Protestors leave urinated bottles at the venue, slam lead sponsor Jeff Bezos for his treatment to Amazon workers

The mass layoffs at Amazon shocked the globe. The treatment to the workers was more appalling. So when billionaire Jeff Bezos and the man behind the drastic decision was the lead sponsor for this year's Met Gala, all hell broke loose. Protestors, in hundreds, left urinated bottles at the venue to express their anger and agitation.

A message by the group read- "The MET Museum is taking the PISS by having Jeff." Another message read- "If you can buy the Met Gala, you can pay more tax" and “no red carpet for Trump’s billionaires."

The Amazon layoffs

Amazon earlier this year in January slashed about 16,000 corporate jobs in the second round of mass layoffs for the ecommerce company in three months.

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A tech giant said it plans to use generative artificial intelligence to replace corporate workers. It has also been reducing a workforce that swelled during the pandemic.

Beth Galetti, a senior vice president at Amazon, said in a blog post Wednesday that the company has been “reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy.”

The company did not say what business units would be impacted, or where the job cuts would occur.

The latest reductions follow a round of job cuts in October, when Amazon said it was laying off 14,000 workers. While some Amazon units completed those “organizational changes” in October, others did not finish until now, Galetti said.

She said U.S.-based staff would be given 90 days to look for a new role internally. Those who are unsuccessful or don’t want a new job will be offered severance pay, outplacement services and health insurance benefits, she said.

The latest reductions follow a round of job cuts in October, when Amazon said it was laying off 14,000 workers. While some Amazon units completed those “organizational changes” in October, others did not finish until now, Galetti said.

With added inputs from agencies