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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,...
SNIPES USA, the leading footwear retailer connecting streetwear culture with community and creativity, has launched a series of campus activations at Historically Black Colleges and Universities ( HBCUs). Through its Pay It Forward initiative, launched in 2022, SNIPES has funded HBCU scholarships and campus programs at Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, Morgan State University, Central State University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T), Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), Norfolk State University, and Hampton University, according to a news release shared with AFROTECH™. The initiative is rooted in SNIPES’ HBCU strategy, built on three core pillars: cultural celebration and connection, educational empowerment, and sustainable community integration. “Our work with HBCUs goes far beyond a campaign — it’s a commitment,” SNIPES USA Chief Marketing Officer Kelley Walton...
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’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...
In January, President Donald Trump claimed that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) was “nonsense,” reports The Hill. e.l.f. Beauty CEO Tarang Amin disagrees. In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, Amin said diversity is a key driver of the company’s financial success. He added that many CEOs he speaks with also strongly support greater diversity and inclusion in the workplace. “I’ve never met a CEO who didn’t want the best possible workforce they could get. And we see lots of data, there’s a lot of rhetoric, but without the actual facts,” which he notes tell a different story. Amin cited a press release highlighting research from North Carolina A&T State University — the nation’s largest historically Black university — showing that, from 2018-2024, companies with greater than average gender diversity on their boards outperformed those with below-average gender diversity by a staggering 256% annually. The press release spotlighted e.l.f.’s Change the Board Game...
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...
Walmart is investing in AI to power its next phase of digital transformation. On Thursday (July 24), it announced four AI-powered “super agents” designed to improve customer experience and “streamline operations,” Reuters reports. The goal is to grow e-commerce to 50% of total sales within five years. According to Reuters, the new AI agents, which are tailored for shoppers, associates, suppliers, and developers, are built on agentic AI, a technology designed to perform complex tasks with minimal human input. Sparky And The Shopper Experience Sparky, a generative AI tool, is already live in the Walmart app, Reuters reports. Customers can use it to get product suggestions, find printer ink, summarize product reviews, and more. Per the outlet, as a super agent, it will soon be able to reorder frequently purchased items, plan events, and suggest recipes using computer vision to scan fridge contents, according to Hari Vasudev, Walmart’s U.S. chief technology officer. Internal Tools For...
A trip to Italy led this couple on a journey to making moves in the wine space. Married couple Carissa and Kenneth Stephens shared a bottle of wine in 2014 that changed their trajectory forever. According to their Pur Noire website, the founders were surprised when they learned that the bottle was from a minority-owned wine brand, and from there they were inspired to widen their palates. This led to a trip to Todi, a town in Umbria, Italy, notes Travel Noire. The pair indulged in various wines such as Barolo and Chianti Classico and also solidified they no longer wanted to solely be consumers in the industry. “While in Italy, we fell in love with wine. We fell in love with the communal aspect of it, and when we got back to the States we really wanted to dive in and explore that,” Carissa told Houston Life. Pur Noire In 2018, the Houston couple decided to enter into business together and form their winery and tasting room, Pur Noire. An official launch had been set for 2020, but like...
If you own an Anker PowerCore 10000 power bank, now’s the time to check your device. Anker issued a major recall after receiving 19 reports of fires and explosions, pulling more than 1 million units from the market. The recall, announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), highlights growing concerns about the risks tied to lithium-ion batteries. What Devices Are Being Recalled? Anker’s website states the recall covers PowerCore 10000 power banks (model A1263) sold between June 2016 and December 2022. These portable chargers were widely available online and in stores across the U.S. To check if your device is impacted: Find the serial number on the bottom of your charger. Enter it on Anker’s recall website to verify. Double-check letters and numbers carefully (common mix-ups like using “O” vs. “0” or “I” vs. “1” can lead to errors). If your serial number is missing or unreadable, Anker advises reaching out to its support team directly for guidance. This isn’t the...
Savannah James — podcast host, entrepreneur, and mother of three with husband LeBron James — is expanding her growing portfolio with Reframe, a skincare brand backed by two years of research and proven results. Released on May 15, 2025, Reframe enters the beauty space with three core products: the Pigment Processor, a daily brightening serum priced at $115; Compression Complex, a facial sculpting moisturizer for $95; and Circadian Cream, which is an overnight collagen moisturizer that costs $135. In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE Magazine, James shared that her passion for skincare dates back to at least middle school, when she would watch her mother apply Noxzema to her flawless skin. Reframe was born from a desire to shift how clinical skincare is seen, experienced, and presented. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Cut (@thecut) “I really love clinical skincare. But it’s not always cute, and it’s not always really innovative,” James told PEOPLE. “So I think...
With some assistance from artificial intelligence (AI) and a great deal of artistic vision, one business is reinventing the virtual fitting room. Doji, a fashion-tech startup co-founded by Dorian Dargan and Jim Winkens, has raised $14 million in seed funding, led by Thrive Capital with participation from Seven Seven Six Ventures, to scale its AI-powered avatar app that lets users virtually try on clothes in a fun, social, and personalized way. Dargan, Doji’s CEO, shared the news on his LinkedIn page, expressing his excitement about building a platform that puts users at the center of their fashion journey, stating, “Fashion is meant to be fun. But somewhere along the way, shopping for clothes online became overwhelming instead of exciting. We believe there’s a better way – one that celebrates creativity and self-expression.” Doji, which combines the founders’ first names, Dorian and Jim, lets users upload selfies and full-body images to generate an avatar, as TechCrunch reports....
A venture capital firm founder has launched a lawsuit against PayPal, alleging that the company’s diversity and equity program excluded her because she is Asian. Nisha Desai, the founder of Andav Capital, claims she applied for consideration in a $530 million financial commitment PayPal announced in 2020 to support Black- and minority-owned businesses , TechCrunch reported. However, she asserts that she was overlooked due to her Asian heritage, as the program primarily focused on supporting Black- and Hispanic-led enterprises. “Funds majority-owned by individuals of other races, including Asian Americans, are not given equal consideration,” Desai stated in the New York lawsuit, per the outlet. “Worse, PayPal and its senior management have repeatedly trumpeted the program’s focus on race, bragging in statements and press releases that PayPal’s program is for some races and ethnicities and not others.” Desai claims that PayPal has violated Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866,...
Reebok is making a comeback in the world of basketball. On Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, Reebok and the WNBA announced a multi-year agreement designating the global sports culture brand as an authorized footwear supplier for the league. “The WNBA continues to grow with iconic brands, and we look forward to Reebok joining us in driving women’s basketball to new heights and inspiring the next generation,” WNBA Chief Growth Officer Colie Edison said in a statement. “As we continue to capitalize on increased brand awareness, our work with Reebok is another step in bringing more fans to the game.” Reebok has been producing basketball shoes for women since the 1980s. Throughout the 1990s, the brand sponsored some of the best women’s collegiate basketball teams in the country and, in 1997, launched a signature shoe for WNBA player Rebecca Lobo. It’s no secret that Nike is the leading shoe brand among NBA and WNBA players, but other brands have a presence. As of October 2024, six active WNBA...
Amazon has introduced a new delivery service that caters to low-income families to help cut costs and time for grocery shopping. According to a press release, the retail giant unveiled its grocery delivery subscription, which is provided at a lower cost to individuals receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Available in over 3,500 U.S. cities, the subscription provides unlimited grocery delivery on orders more than $35 from Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, and other local grocery retail stores on Amazon.com. Customers who use a registered EBT (electronic benefit transfer) card to purchase groceries aren’t required to have a Prime membership to access the subscription’s benefits, the press release details. The cost for this group of customers is $4.99 per month, and Prime members pay $9.99 per month. Under the new Amazon subscription, both SNAP recipients and Prime members are offered convenience through one-hour delivery windows and 30-minute pickup...
