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Amazon CEO Andy Jassy addressed the company’s recent layoffs during its quarterly earnings call on Oct. 30, saying the decision to cut 14,000 corporate positions was based on cultural factors rather than financial or AI-related reasons, Fortune reports. “The announcement that we made a few days ago was not really financially driven, and it’s not even really AI-driven, not right now at least,” he said during the call. “It’s culture.” The Amazon layoffs, which largely affected middle management, followed a June 2025 memo, according to a previous Fortune report. In it, Jassy said that advancements in AI have increased efficiency across the company. In a separate internal communication, Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, described the restructuring as an effort to adjust to the “transformative technology” of AI. Amazon’s workforce has grown significantly in recent years. The company currently employs about 1.55 million people worldwide,...
Netflix’s Board of Directors has approved a 10-for-1 stock split, the company announced in a news release on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. Shareholders of record at the close of trading on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, will receive nine additional shares for each share held, effective after the close on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. Trading on a split-adjusted basis is expected to begin Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. Netflix said the split aims to “reset the market price of the Company’s common stock to a range that will be more accessible” for employees with stock options . Netflix shares rose by 2% in after-hours trading following the 10-for-1 stock split announcement, Business Insider reports . The stock closed Thursday at $1,089, up 42% over the past year, and is one of only 10 S&P 500 stocks trading above $1,000, reports CNBC. Thursday’s 10-for-1 split marks Netflix’s third split-stock decision, following a 2-for-1 split in 2004 and a 7-for-1 split in 2015, per Yahoo! Finance. What Is A Stock Split?...
United Parcel Service (UPS) began the year with nearly half a million employees but has since cut about 48,000 jobs in a major cost-cutting push to boost profits, remain competitive, and regain investor confidence. In its third-quarter earnings report released Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, the Atlanta -based logistics giant said it had reduced its operational workforce by roughly 34,000 positions through its Network Reconfiguration and Efficiency Reimagined program. The company eliminated another 14,000 roles, primarily in management, under its Fit to Serve initiative, which began last year to “right-size” operations and build a more efficient, market-responsive business model. “I want to extend my gratitude to all UPSers for their dedication and steadfast commitment to serving our customers,” CEO Carol Tomé said in a statement. “We are executing the most significant strategic shift in our company’s history, and the changes we are implementing are designed to deliver long-term value for...
Amazon is planning significant workforce changes as it expands the use of artificial intelligence, or AI, technologies. The company announced it will lay off about 14,000 corporate employees this year, according to CNN. The eliminations are part of a broader effort to simplify operations so that the company can move more nimbly through technology-driven changes. In a memo to employees, Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, said the company will continue hiring in strategic areas in 2026 while also identifying “additional places we can remove layers, increase ownership, and realize efficiency gains.” The memo was published on Amazon’s blog. The reductions represent about 4% of the company’s corporate workforce, which includes more than 350,000 employees, CNN reported. Amazon layoffs are set to begin this week, and most affected workers will have 90 days to apply for internal roles. Those who cannot secure new positions will receive...
Amazon’s workforce has tripled in the United States since 2018, reaching nearly 1.2 million employees, reports The New York Times. Now, the nation’s second-largest employer is accelerating automation, with plans to use robots in place of what would have been 600,000 workers hired by 2033, even though sales are projected to double by then. According to The Times, interviews and leaked internal documents reveal that Amazon plans to automate 75% of its operations, potentially eliminating 160,000 jobs in the U.S. by 2027. Automation would save Amazon around 30 cents per item shipped, amounting to an estimated $12.6 billion in savings between 2025 and 2027. At facilities designed for superfast deliveries, Amazon is trying to create warehouses that employ few humans at all. In 2024, Amazon opened its most advanced robotic warehouse in Shreveport, La. — a model for future fulfillment centers, per The Times. After a package is sealed there, human hands rarely touch it again. The outlet...
Millions of people across the U.S. felt the effects of Amazon Web Services (AWS) going offline. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the global outage on Monday, Oct. 20, disrupted access to websites, apps, and services across sectors. As recovery continues, new details are emerging about just how integral AWS is to everyday digital life. According to CNN, the outage rippled through nearly every aspect of daily routines. People couldn’t order coffee through mobile apps, teachers couldn’t access lesson plans, and smart home systems like Ring and Blink cameras stopped working. For many, it was more than just an inconvenience. Hospitals also lost key communications tools, and customers at digital banks such as Chime couldn’t access their money. The shutdown underscored how essential AWS has become to digital infrastructure. The platform provides the behind-the-scenes computing power for millions of businesses, offering storage, servers, and data management tools that keep operations...
Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud infrastructure giant relied on by millions of companies worldwide, experienced a significant outage on Monday, Oct. 20, temporarily knocking major websites and apps offline, CNBC reports. What Is AWS And What Caused The Outage? AWS, according to its website, is a cloud computing platform that provides on-demand services such as data storage, computing power, and database management to businesses, governments, and developers. The disruption, per CNBC, first emerged in AWS’s primary U.S. East-1 region in northern Virginia at around 3:11 a.m. ET, when the company reported DNS issues affecting DynamoDB, its database service that supports many AWS applications. DNS, or Domain Name System, translates website names into IP addresses, enabling browsers and apps to load content. AWS said at the time that the problem stemmed from an operational issue affecting multiple services, impacting more than 70 of its own systems. Early signs of recovery appeared by...
Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days, exclusive to Prime members, ran on Oct. 7 and 8, 2025. While marketed as “two days of epic deals ahead of the holiday season,” The Washington Post columnist Geoffrey A. Fowler tracked prices and found he’d save just 0.6%, which he called “almost nothing.” In a column published Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, Fowler recalled how he and his family went into Prime Big Deal Days expecting bargains on items they’d been tracking for weeks. Instead, they encountered price hikes. For example, a TV stand his father had been eyeing jumped 38% — from $275 on Oct. 2 to $379 during the sale. Another console increased from $219.99 to $299. While not labeled as official “deals,” the unexpected price spikes contradicted the Prime Day hype. To investigate systematically, Fowler reviewed receipts for nearly 50 non-grocery items he had purchased on Amazon over the past six months and compared those prices to their listings on Oct. 8, finding some legitimate deals and others that...
Amazon Pharmacy is working to improve health outcomes by streamlining the path from clinic to medication with new in-office Pharmacy Kiosks that allow patients to pick up prescriptions immediately after medical visits. Announced on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, the kiosks will roll out at One Medical locations across greater Los Angeles starting in December 2025 and expand to additional offices and sites in the near future. Each kiosk is powered by Amazon’s logistics and technology — which could significantly expand medication access across various care settings — and stocked with medications tailored to each office’s specific prescribing patterns. “We know that when patients have to make an extra trip to the pharmacy after seeing their doctor, many prescriptions never get filled,” Hannah McClellan, Amazon Pharmacy’s vice president of operations, said a statement. “By bringing the pharmacy directly to the point of care, we’re removing a critical barrier and helping patients start their...
AI data centers that continue to pop up across the United States are driving power costs to record highs — and consumers are left bearing the burden. According to Bloomberg, Kevin Stanley, a blind Baltimore resident living on disability benefits, says his electric bill has surged about 80% over the past three years — despite living over an hour from northern Virginia’s “Data Center Alley.” As a result, Stanley has found himself stretching supplies for his diabetes and sleep apnea, and occasionally relies on food banks to cut costs. “They can say this is going to help with AI, but how is that going to help me?” Stanley said, Bloomberg reported. “How’s that going to help me pay my bill?” Connor Waldoch, co-founder of Grid Status, an energy data analytics platform, says the surge in electricity demand from data centers is driving up utility bills, adding to the strain of rising costs for food, housing, and other essentials. How AI Data Centers Are Driving Up Energy Costs A Bloomberg...
Amazon has settled a lawsuit regarding its Prime subscription. Amazon Settlement CNN reports that Amazon was sued in 2023 by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for allegedly tricking its customers into enrolling in its Prime subscription service and making it difficult to cancel. The FTC claims it violated the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA). The lawsuit, which also targeted several Amazon executives, has been settled for $2.5 billion, according to a news release. It will pay a $1 billion civil penalty — reportedly the largest in a case involving an FTC rule violation — and provide $1.5 billion in refunds to nearly 35 million customers “harmed by their deceptive Prime enrollment practices.” Additionally, Amazon must end its unlawful practices surrounding Prime enrollment and cancellations . “Today, the Trump-Vance FTC made history and secured a record-breaking, monumental win for the millions of Americans who are tired of deceptive subscriptions that...
In an industry where leadership roles for Black professionals remain limited, these two Amazon leaders are redefining the future and what’s possible. Jonah Ukwu and Ricky Madison Jr. hold senior positions in Amazon’s Last Mile Delivery network (AMZL, or Amazon Logistics), which is part of the company’s transportation system. According to Amazon Freight, the “last mile” stage involves sorting goods at a fulfillment facility, loading them onto delivery vehicles, and following planned routes to reach customers quickly and efficiently. Unlike earlier stages, which move freight in bulk, last mile delivery breaks shipments into individual orders. Ukwu and Madison are leaders working internationally with Amazon Logistics and both say their international assignments have expanded their leadership skills and deepened their understanding of different cultures. Connecting Culturally Through Leadership Ukwu recently stepped into a senior regional leadership role at Amazon Japan, where he now...
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced that the company plans to decrease its corporate workforce as it adopts more generative AI tools. “We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs. It’s hard to know exactly where this nets out over time, but in the next few years, we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company,” Jassy said in a company memo on Tuesday. He added that Amazon is utilizing AI to optimize inventory placement, enhance demand forecasting, and improve its robots, noting that this has resulted in lower costs and faster delivery speeds. Amazon announced in February that it will spend $100 billion on capital expenditures, driven by investments in artificial intelligence, according to CNBC. The company has reduced its workforce in recent years, having laid off over 27,000 employees since 2022, CNBC reported. AI’s Influence...
Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. The New York Times inked a multi-year deal with Amazon last month to license its content to Amazon’s artificial intelligence models. Amazon will have access to The New York Times’ content, including NYT Cooking and its sports publication, The Athletic. Amazon’s AI services, such as Alexa, will produce real-time summaries and short excerpts. Similar to other news publishers, The New York Times views a licensing deal as a viable way to generate profits as AI companies attempt to siphon copyrighted content to train their chatbots. Attitudes towards AI use, especially regarding news organizations, can be polarizing. Other publishers such as The Washington Post, Associated Press, and Axios have also signed deals with AI companies to license their content. A few years ago, AI companies were using copyrighted material without permission. Media company Ziff Davis and The New York Times sued OpenAI and...
An Amazon-backed AI model threatened to blackmail engineers. In March 2024, Amazon announced a $4 billion investment in Anthropic, according to a news release. Anthropic is a company building frontier artificial intelligence (AI) systems that its leaders believe are safe and reliable, according to its website. One of its technologies is Claude, which is an AI model that has the capabilities of advanced reasoning, vision analysis, code generation, and multilingual processing. The company has been utilizing Amazon Web Services’ tools as its “primary cloud provider for mission critical workloads.” “We have a notable history with Anthropic, together helping organizations of all sizes around the world to deploy advanced generative artificial intelligence applications across their organizations,” Dr. Swami Sivasubramanian, vice president of data and AI at AWS, said in the news release. “Anthropic’s visionary work with generative AI, most recently the introduction of its state-of-the art...
