I was a working mom at Amazon who struggled to relax. After I was laid off, I went all in on wellness.
After being laid off from Amazon, Rania Zheng transitioned from a senior technical product manager role to running a full-time wellness-travel business. She reflects on her struggle to maintain work-life balance while at the tech giant and how the layoff provided the opportunity to pursue her passion.
Why it matters
This highlights the growing trend of tech professionals pivoting to entrepreneurship and wellness-focused careers following industry-wide layoffs.
Rania Zheng went all in on her wellness-travel business after being laid off by Amazon. Rania Zheng Rania Zheng struggled to relax while working at Amazon, so she sought out holistic wellness practices. She was laid off in October 2025 and turned her wellness interest into a full-time business. Rania's business offers curated trips in China focusing on different wellness themes. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Rania Zheng, a 34-year-old former senior technical product manager at Amazon living in Bellevue, Washington. Zheng was laid off from Amazon in October 2025 and now runs her own wellness-travel business. The following has been edited for length and clarity. When I learned last October that I was being laid off from Amazon after nearly six years, I was surprised. However, it didn't feel like the end of the world. Layoffs had become common across the tech industry .
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