DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Amazon CEO Andy Jassy broke federal labor law with anti-union remarks
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy violated federal labor law in comments he made to media outlets about unionization efforts at the company, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled Wednesday. NLRB Administrative Law Judge Brian Gee cited interviews Jassy gave in 2022 to CNBC's "Squawk Box," Bloomberg Television and at The New York Times' DealBook conference. At the DealBook conference, Jassy said that without a union the workplace isn't "bureaucratic, it's not slow." The NLRB filed the complaint against Amazon and Jassy in October 2022. But the Amazon chief's other remarks that employees would be less empowered and "better off" without a union violated labor law, "because they went beyond merely commenting on the employee-employer relationship."

Persons: Andy Jassy, Brian Gee, Jassy, Gee, Mary Kate Paradis, Paradis Organizations: National Labor Relations, NLRB, Bloomberg Television, The New York Times, CNBC, Bloomberg, Amazon Locations: Amazon's

☆ Amazon is opening cloud regions in Southeast Asia to meet customer demand, CTO says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Sheila Chiang | In Sheilachiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Amazon is opening cloud regions in Southeast Asia because customers want their data stored securely in their own countries, Amazon Chief Technology Officer Werner Vogels said in an exclusive interview. They really wanted something local such that they can meet, for example, local data storage requirements, or protection of personal identifiable information," Vogels told CNBC's JP Ong. An AWS region is a physical location where data centers are clustered. Within each AWS region are a minimum of three separate availability zones. "And for them, it's important to have these kinds of technologies on the ground, in [the] country to make sure that they can serve their customers best or their citizens best," said Vogels.

Persons: Werner Vogels, Vogels, CNBC's JP Ong Organizations: Amazon Chief, Amazon Web Services Locations: Southeast Asia

☆ Forcing workers back to the office is 'dinosaur management' — and companies risk losing out, expert says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

After the first rounds of return-to-office mandates in 2023, many companies are now introducing more punitive measures to make their employees come to the office — actively tracking attendance, micromanaging employees' time, and blocking remote workers from bonuses and career progression. AdvertisementThis week, Dell informed staff that most of its workers will have to come into the office an average of three days a week. Mike Blake/ReutersIn November, Amazon also added a no-promotions policy for perennial remote workers. For example, women — who tend to take on more responsibility for the family and therefore benefit more from flexible remote work policies — will take a bigger hit from punitive policies, Cooper said. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recorded a 16% increase in mental health disability complaints between 2021 and 2022 from employees who want remote work allowances, The Hill reported.

Persons: —, weren't, Dell, Andy Jassy, Mike Blake, Young, Cary Cooper, Cooper, Justin Garrison Organizations: Service, Forbes, Business, Citibank, BI, Amazon, Reuters, Google, Ernst, University of Manchester, Dell, Amazon Web Services, Tata Consultancy Services, Gallup, Employment, Commission Locations: London, United States

☆ Amazon cuts hundreds of jobs in Pharmacy, One Medical units: Read the memo
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Amazon has eliminated hundreds of jobs in its Pharmacy and One Medical divisions, the company confirmed to CNBC. "Unfortunately, these changes will result in the elimination of a few hundred roles across One Medical and Amazon Pharmacy." At the start of this year, Amazon announced cuts in its Prime Video, MGM Studios, Buy with Prime, Twitch and Audible units. Here's the full memo from Lindsay:Hi everyone, The past year has been incredibly exciting for all of our health care businesses, and we're seeing tremendous growth for Amazon Pharmacy, One Medical, and Amazon Clinic. Unfortunately, these changes will result in the elimination of a few hundred roles across One Medical and Amazon Pharmacy.

Persons: Neil Lindsay, Lindsay, Andy Jassy, Brian Olsavsky, Amazon, Neil CNBC Organizations: Amazon, CNBC, Amazon Health Services, Amazon Pharmacy, MGM Studios, Amazon Clinic, Pharmacy, CARE Locations: Amazon's, d50nominations.cnbc.com

He said creating different ads for various audiences can be expensive and expects Amazon's AI tools to save money for advertisers. Brendan Witcher, a principal analyst at Forrester, said that Amazon's generative AI ad tool will be "good for attracting and keeping a segment of third-party sellers and brands advertising on Amazon." Other companies including Ascendly Marketing are using generative AI imaging tools that combine pictures of public figures with products. His clients are seeing a bump in sales and Google click-through rates, a trend that Amazon wants to see for its own generative AI ad tools during the holiday season. Analysts expect Amazon's advertising business to earn $14.2 billion during the holiday quarter, up from $11.56 billion a year earlier, according to LSEG estimates.

Persons: Soren Larson, Andy Jassy, Jassy, Andy Friedland, Brendan Witcher, Forrester, Elvis Presley, Marshal Davis, Friedland, Witcher, Ascendly's Davis, Davis, Arriana McLymore, Siddharth Cavale, Rod Nickel Organizations: REUTERS, Black, Amazon, Ascendly, Google, Amazon's, Thomson Locations: Melville , New York, U.S, New York City

☆ CNBC Daily Open: Is trouble on the horizon?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. The Seattle-based online retail giant reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that sailed past analysts' estimates. Its ad business recorded $12.06 billion in revenue during the third quarter, marking a 26% jump from the year-earlier period. Cost cuttingIntel shares rose about 7% in after-hours trading after the company reported third-quarter earnings on Thursday that beat expectations for profit and sales, even as overall revenue declined.

Persons: Andy Jassy, axing, Li Keqiang, Li Organizations: CNBC, Nasdaq, Dow Jones, Web Services, Ford, United Auto Workers union, Intel Locations: Asia, Pacific, Seattle, North America, Shanghai

☆ Despite the AI hype, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are seeing cloud growth rates stall as customers try to cut costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Despite the promise of generative AI to turbo-charge cloud computing sales, growth rates in the sector remains stalled for Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. All three cloud providers reported this week that cloud customers are still scrutinizing their IT budgets amid a shaky global economy. Cloud sales growth rates stalled this year as customers navigated rising inflation and destabilizing geopolitical conflicts. The company told investors the stalled growth was due to "customer optimization efforts" — a nicer word for cost-cutting. At the same time last year, Amazon Web Services sales were growing by more than double that rate.

Persons: Brian Olsavsky, GitHub Copilot, Satya Nadella, Amy Hood, Hood, It's, Nadella, Ellen Thomas Organizations: Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Amazon Web Services Locations: ethomas@insider.com

☆ One Last Chance to Be Lazy
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Steven Kurutz | More About Steven Kurutz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Early afternoon, late summer. The cicadas were whirring outside. I closed my laptop, got up from the desk in my home office and went to the bedroom. Instead of fighting off sleep, I put the book aside and gave in to a nap. Now several firms whose employees have continued to work remotely, including Amazon, BlackRock and Meta, are cracking down.

Persons: ”, Ron Shelton, “ Bull, snooze, Andy Jassy, “ it’s Organizations: of Baseball, Amazon, Labor Locations: “ Bull Durham, BlackRock, Meta

Amazon previously said it is seeing a decrease in growth in AWS as business clients reallocated their spending to reduce costs. Investors are also looking to see how Amazon's advertising business intersects with more language models and generative AI. The company's advertising business was seeing "robust growth" due to its machine learning investment, Chief Executive Andy Jassy said in the first-quarter earnings call. Net sales of Amazon's advertising business in the first quarter were $9.51 billion. Amazon's first-quarter operating income was $4.77 billion a 74.4%% increase from $2.74 billion in the fourth-quarter and a 30.1% increase from last year.

Persons: Tom Forte, Forte, Brian Olsavsky, Andy Jassy, Arun Sundaram, China's Temu, Sundaram, Amazon's, Arriana McLymore, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Investors, Web Services, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Davidson Companies, YouTube, Thomson Locations: NY, Refinitiv, Singapore, United States, New York City

☆ Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is playing an increasingly active role in The Washington Post's operations, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Jeff Bezos is playing an increasingly active role in operations at The Post, The New York Times says. Bezos has sought to make The Post an international force and has encouraged digital experimentation. Patty Stonesifer, the interim chief executive for The Post, told The Times that Bezos was thrilled with "every dollar invested" in the company. Bezos encouraged digital experimentation when he first bought the newspaper, angling to make The Post into an international powerhouse. After Bezos' initial purchase of The Post, his influence was less visible in the newsroom, according to two individuals who spoke with The Times.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, Bezos, Trump, Patty Stonesifer, Stonesifer, Graham, cratered, Sally Buzbee —, Marty Baron —, Fred Ryan —, —, Sally Quinn, Ben Bradlee, haven't Organizations: The New York Times, Amazon, The Washington Post, Post, The Times, Times, The, Washington Post

☆ Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says his letter to shareholders follows one of the toughest economic years in recent memory. Read it in full.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +38 min

Further, as machine learning adoption has continued to accelerate, customers have yearned for lower-cost GPUs (the chips most commonly used for machine learning). While some areas of the economy have struggled over the past few years, Amazon Business has thrived. Some people have never heard of Amazon Business, but, our business customers love it. For years, Amazon customers had asked us when we'd offer them an online pharmacy as their frustrations mounted with current providers. More recently, a newer form of machine learning, called Generative AI, has burst onto the scene and promises to significantly accelerate machine learning adoption.

☆ Amazon expansion collides with contraction
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Jennifer Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, March 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Amazon.com’s (AMZN.O) rapid expansion is hitting a wall. When it comes to those trends, even Amazon can’t be too sure. But when it comes to the intersection of hiring and work-from-home trends, even Amazon doesn’t have a crystal ball. Follow @jennifersaba on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSAmazon.com is pausing the construction of its next phase of its second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, the company said on March 3. In 2018, Amazon awarded the Washington suburb with the promise to invest $2.5 billion and hire 25,000 workers.

And while Amazon's holiday revenue beat Wall Street's expectations, sales growth from its lucrative cloud-computing division slowed during the fourth quarter. Amazon Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky told reporters that the company expects slower cloud growth rates for the next few quarters as it worked with customers to optimize costs. Olsavsky also said the company remains nervous about consumer spending and how people will prioritize budgets moving forward. Facing high inflation and an uncertain economy, CEO Andy Jassy has aimed to slash costs across Amazon's vast array of businesses. The division fell short of estimates of more than $22 billion in fourth-quarter cloud sales, increasing them 20% to $21.4 billion.

Amazon, Microsoft, and Google announced layoffs of a total of 40,000 employees this week. Tech companies embarked on a massive hiring spree as the Covid-era made their products the backbone of the world's remote-working offices. The era of tech companies spending like rock stars is overOver the last decade Big Tech companies spent money "like 1980's rock stars," wrote Dan Ives, managing director at the investment firm Wedbush . On the other end, tech companies may look much different this decade as they did in the last. As companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft cut costs, they'll find ways to operate leaner, and their stock prices will stabilize.

☆ Amazon’s Security Chief Keeps Focus on Recruiting and Retaining Talent
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Belle Lin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

The cybersecurity talent gap grew by 26.2% over the past year to around 3.4 million unfilled jobs worldwide, according to professional group (ISC)2. Amazon recently announced a companywide hiring pause and expects to lay off up to 10,000 workers, but Mr. Schmidt said he plans to boost Amazon’s security team. He oversees information security, personnel security and physical security, and was previously chief information security officer of Amazon’s cloud unit Amazon Web Services. Amazon’s customer-service department serves as a “great feeder” for cybersecurity talent, Mr. Schmidt said, because those individuals have an existing focus on solving customer needs. He declined to name the size of Amazon’s security team, but estimated 25% of its staff are internal hires it has trained.

☆ Amazon Executive Who Oversaw Entertainment Push Exits Company
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Joe Flint | Dana Mattioli | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Veteran Amazon.com Inc. executive Jeff Blackburn , who played a key role in the tech giant’s push into entertainment, is leaving the company. In a memo to staff, Amazon Chief Executive Andy Jassy said the departure of Mr. Blackburn, who had returned to Amazon about 18 months ago from a sabbatical, will result in restructuring and leadership changes at the global media and entertainment division, which Mr. Blackburn oversaw.

☆ Amazon media chief Jeff Blackburn retires from the company for the second time
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Senior Vice President of Business Development at Amazon Jeff Blackburn (R) and Anne Blackburn attend the The IMDb Dinner Party at the Sundance Film Festival presented by Dolby on January 28, 2019 in Park City, Utah. Jeff Blackburn is retiring for the second time from Amazon , where he held a number of high-profile leadership roles over two decades. Amazon said Friday that the senior vice president of global media and entertainment will remain at the company through early 2023 to "ensure a smooth transition." Blackburn joined Amazon in 1998 and has worked on a number initiatives at the company including advertising, Amazon Studios and Prime Video service and music business. He rejoined that May as the senior vice president of a new Global Media & Entertainment division, overseeing Amazon's video, music, podcast, and gaming businesses.

The holiday shopping season is in full effect as Thanksgiving week begins, and retailers are nervous. Data from the research group Factset show inventory levels among retailers including Walmart, Target, Amazon and Best Buy remain significantly above pre-pandemic levels. But those sales events are also coming at a time of a slowing economy and the ongoing weight of inflation, retail executives say. Despite the mixed economic signals, the U.S. Census Bureau reported unexpectedly strong retail sales for October. The National Retail Federation said earlier this month that it expects annual holiday sales growth to hit between 6% and 8%.

Warehouse workers pick items up, sort them and put them down millions of times a day. Warehouse workers at Amazon and other companies are at risk of developing repetitive-stress injuries and musculoskeletal disorders. The Sparrow is “a major leap in technology challenge and technology development,” said Joseph Quinlivan, Amazon’s vice president of global robotics and technology. Amazon workers at the robotics facility in Westborough, Mass. New robots aren’t expected to replace warehouse employees but will lead to more roles to work with the robots, Amazon said.

☆ A top oil analyst explains why oil is about to surge to $120 - and stay there for 2 years as Europe battles supply shocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Come December, oil prices in particular will come under pressure as the European Union imposes fresh sanctions on Russia. Oil prices are about to hit $120 a barrel, and they're likely going to stay high for two years. The Energy Aspects senior analyst said that Europe is facing troubling supply issues that are unlikely to go away anytime soon. "OPEC's been very protective of making sure there's a floor to prices," Gallarati said. What's something that you think could help ease oil prices heading into 2023?

☆ Why technology spending will rise even as tech stocks tank and layoffs mount
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Tim Mullaney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The path of tech demand has been one of the key questions as markets try to handicap the odds of a 2023 recession. "CEOs and CFOs have no intention of cutting tech spending," said Gartner chief forecaster John-David Lovelock. On the bright side, the GDP report painted a picture of fairly strong technology demand, said Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Michael Gapen. The shortfall in investment spending was driven by a sharp decline in residential investment, he said. In percentage terms, cloud spending will rise by about 20 percent for the next two to three years, according to Gartner's forecast.

Oct 27 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) on Thursday forecast a slowdown in sales growth for the holiday season, disappointing Wall Street and warning that inflation-wary consumers and businesses had less money to spend. In a call with reporters, Amazon Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said the company was bracing for slower economic growth. Amazon forecast net sales of between $140 billion and $148 billion, or growth as little as 2% from a year earlier. The Amazon logo is seen at the company's logistics centre in Boves, France, October 6, 2021 REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File PhotoPrior holiday quarter sales growth was 9% in 2021 and 38% in 2020. Amazon's cloud sales growth has ticked down consistently in the past year.

☆ Leaked Amazon slides instruct employees to 'double down on frugality' in all-hands meeting
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Ashley Stewart | Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon urged frugality in an all-hands meeting this week, according to excerpts reviewed by Insider. The comments signify the tone shift at Amazon, as it tightens its belt in the face of a looming recession. Amazon's leadership team urged employees to "double down on frugality" in an internal all-hands meeting this week, according to slides and excerpts viewed by Insider. The slides instructed employees to "accomplish more with less," meaning to adjust hiring, reduce costs, and inventory levels. At the meeting, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy conveyed a similar message when asked about the economic downturn and its effect on Amazon's future investments.

Search resuls for: "Amazon Chief"

23 mentions found