DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Amazon is opening Fresh supermarkets after yearlong stall — but many locations remain vacant
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-11 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

In this article AMZN Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTWorkers stock shelves at an Amazon Fresh grocery store in Seattle, Washington, US, on Thursday, May 2, 2024. As part of the Fresh store redesign, Amazon created a more colorful layout and added Krispy Kreme donut and coffee stalls. "We like the early results a lot," Jassy said on the company's first-quarter earnings call in April, referring to the revamped Fresh stores. Amazon declined to comment on the status of the Fresh stores that remain unopened. "You walk into the Amazon Fresh store in Roseville and it feels like you're in a stainless steel wine cellar," Thill said.

Persons: David Ryder, Joe Knowles, Bensalem, it's, Andy Jassy's, Jassy, CNBC it's, It's, Ted Weill, AlbaneseCormier, Weill, they've, Brent Thill, Thill Organizations: Amazon, Bloomberg, Getty, CNBC, Foods, Walmart, Jefferies, Anadolu, Mart, Shoppers, Aldi, Rancho Mirage Locations: Seattle , Washington, US, Philadelphia, Bensalem , Pennsylvania, California , Illinois, Maryland , New Jersey, Virginia, Illinois, California, Amazon's, U.S, Woodland, Los Angeles, San Mateo , California, United States, Pennsylvania , New Jersey , New York , Florida, Washington, Florida, Mirage , California, Palm Springs, Italian, Sacramento, Roseville, Amazon

☆ The FTC says Jeff Bezos and Amazon execs used Signal to talk business — and it wants to know more
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon execs used messaging app Signal to discuss business matters, the Federal Trade Commission said. The agency wants to know if execs told Amazon staff to delete messages, and when to use Signal. AdvertisementAmazon's top executives used the encrypted messaging app Signal to discuss "sensitive business matters," the Federal Trade Commission said in a court filing on Thursday. The founder said, "Are you on signal messaging app? "Amazon also recognizes that sellers believe 'that it has become more difficult over time to be profitable on Amazon,'" the FTC filing stated.

Persons: execs, —, Jeff Bezos, Andy Jassy, David Zapolsky, Jeff Wilke, Dave Clark, Tim Doyle, Mike Hopkins, Carlo Bertucci, Amazon's, Zapolsky Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, Amazon, Service, FTC, Amazon MGM Studios

☆ Leaked document shows Amazon expects to save $1.3 billion by slashing office vacancies and terminating leases early
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewAmazon expects to save roughly $1.3 billion in coming years by radically reducing office vacancies, according to a person familiar with the matter and an internal document obtained by Business Insider. The company's office-vacancy rate of almost 34% results from slower growth and layoffs, the person familiar told BI. Related storiesIn an email to BI, Brad Glasser, a spokesperson for Amazon, said it's a normal business practice to review the company's real-estate portfolio. AdvertisementThe person familiar with the matter also noted that so-called "hibernations" can help reduce office costs for Amazon. Internally, Amazon is aware of how last year's RTO policy caused confusion and frustration among some employees, people familiar with the plans told BI.

Persons: —, Fitch, Brad Glasser, Glasser, Andy Jassy Organizations: Service, Business, Google, Amazon, Alexa

☆ Consumers frustrated by the economy might never get the relief they're ultimately hoping for
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-20 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In today's big story, we're looking at why the economy has most consumers feeling like they are stuck in place . A "trapped in place" economy is in full swing. Bad buying conditions coupled with everyday high prices means consumers can't make any major life changes , writes Business Insider's Emily Stewart. But it's not the only area of the economy that's stuck, Emily writes. So, while consumers lament being stuck in place, they should also avoid getting stuck looking to the past.

Persons: —, Rebecca Zisser, Emily Stewart, it's, Emily, gunning, It's, Jerome Powell's, Tyler Le, Steve Mnuchin, Brian Moynihan, Instagram, Jensen Huang, Chelsea Jia Feng, Dan DeFrancesco, Hallam Bullock, Jordan Parker Erb, George Glover Organizations: Service, Business, Tech, Federal, Wall Street, Investors, Blackstone, JPMorgan, MLB, Bank of America, mojo, Nvidia, Astera Labs, NASDAQ Locations: It's, Chelsea, New York, London

☆ Refund fraud schemes promoted on TikTok, Telegram are costing Amazon and other retailers billions of dollars
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

The following month, 10 men were indicted in Oklahoma, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud for allegedly operating a refund fraud service named Artemis Refund Group. A thriving refund fraud marketFor every refund fraud service shut down by law enforcement, swarms of similar groups remain open for business. CNBC viewed several active refund fraud services on encrypted messaging app Telegram, each with thousands of followers. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards A Google form from an active refund fraud service explaining which stores it targets and how much it charges customers. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards A refund fraud service claims to have access to Amazon insiders in a Telegram post.

Persons: Stephanie Keith, Noah Page, Page, he'd, Ralph, —, Rick Owens, Sajed Al, Ralph Lauren, Uber, Maarej, Chris Black, Amazon, Al, they'd, Rekk, Cyril Noel, Tagoe, Noel, Louis Vuitton, scammers, Reddit, Brittany Allen, Allen, Remi Vaughn, Vaughn, she's, David Johnston, Johnston Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, CNBC, National Retail Federation, Appriss, Amazon, Page, Riverside Press, Medianews, PayPal, Retailers, Artemis, Walmart, Apple, Nike, eBay, Saks Fifth, DoorDash, Google, MacBook, Mail, UPS, U.S . Postal Service, Al, Rekk, Gucci Locations: New York, Chattanooga , Tennessee, Reddit, TikTok, Eastvale, Michigan, Oklahoma, Chattanooga

☆ There's an uptick in Amazon employees quitting right now, blaming a strict RTO mandate, layoffs, and 'lack of respect'
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Some Amazon employees have noticed an increasing number of Slack messages lately from colleagues who are quitting over the company's strict return-to-office mandate. Many Amazon employees received deadlines for starting to work in offices and the uptick in departures may be related to teams nearing those various deadlines. "This [is] my last day at Amazon," another AWS employee wrote on Friday. However, BI has asked the company for comment on its RTO policy many times in recent months. "Tomorrow is my last day at Amazon," one Amazon employee wrote on Thursday.

Persons: Slack, RTO, Merritt Baer, Brad Glasser, there's, we've, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Business, Amazon, Web Services, BI Locations: RTO

☆ Should a company rate its staff? A former Amazon exec says 'stack ranking' is useful when done right
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Lucy Handley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

What is 'stack ranking?' "Stack ranking" is an employee rating system popularized by executive Jack Welch in the 1980s during his time as CEO of GE. Does stack ranking work? And in many cases, having a stack ranking system is actually helpful, because there's an objective, collaborative process to evaluating employees," he said. Why is stack ranking controversial?

Persons: —, Alykhan Sunderji, Sunder, Jack Welch, Sunderji, Banks, Goldman Sachs, McDonald's, Chris Kempczinski Organizations: Amazon, CNBC, GE, Amazon Pay, Google, Microsoft, Origin, New York Times

☆ Amazon sued by three employees who allege gender discrimination and 'chronic' pay inequity
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Amazon Spheres, part of the Amazon headquarters campus, right, in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, U.S., on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. Three Amazon staffers sued their employer on Monday alleging gender discrimination and accusing the company of retaliation after they complained of "chronic pay inequity issues." He added that Amazon doesn't tolerate discrimination in the workplace, and it investigates all reported incidents of such behavior. The complaint was filed by Outten & Golden, the same New York law firm that represented a Google executive in her successful gender bias lawsuit, as well as Uber software engineers who sued the company for gender and racial discrimination. Amazon has faced allegations of gender and racial discrimination from tech and corporate workers in recent years.

Persons: Caroline Wilmuth, Katherine Schomer, Erin Combs, Wilmuth, Schomer, Combs, Brad Glasser, Loretta Lynch Organizations: South Lake Union, Amazon, Human Resources Department, Western, of Washington, Outten Locations: South Lake, Seattle , Washington , U.S, U.S, York

☆ Recent updates for Amazon return to office policies
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Previous pronouncements about the revolutionary benefits of remote work have been replaced by vague, data-light arguments on productivity gains from being in the office. Apple, Meta, Bloomberg and Google all have gleaming HQs that would look very silly if those companies continued to embrace remote work. Insider has asked Amazon for comment on its RTO policy several times in recent months and the company has responded. AdvertisementAdvertisementAn internal guideline, obtained by Insider, listed Amazon office locations and the dates they are expected to be fully "ready" to support the RTO mandate. That's what some Amazon employees have done by mocking the company's RTO policy and its famous leadership principles.

Persons: Brad Glasser, there's, we've, Amazon's, LINDSEY WASSON, Andy Jassy, Slack, Beth Galetti, Al Drago, Paul Vixie, Andy Jassy's, Mike Hopkins, Hopkins, Elaine Thompson, snafu, they'd Organizations: Amazon, Tech, Meta, Bloomberg, Google, Seattle, Reuters, Amazon SVP, Human, Services, Company, Amazon Video Locations: Seattle, Seattle , Washington , U.S, Beth Galetti REUTERS, Seattle , New York, Houston, Austin , Texas

☆ Amazon employees are outraged by a new warning about individual office attendance: 'Is this supposed to scare people?'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Some Amazon staff got an email warning them about their office attendance records. The email and internal ticket also suggest that Amazon may be tracking individual office attendance records, even though it previously said it only saved "anonymized" data . Another said this is "peak absurdity" since most employees who received the warning email have been complying with the rules. One of the points added to the internal ticket said future communications should not include "gaslighting-like language" because "it does not come across well." As a reminder, you can find FAQs about working from the office on Inside Amazon News and My HR.

Persons: they've, I've Organizations: Amazon

☆ Amazon employees leak secret info that marketplace sellers can buy on Telegram
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

For a fee of $200 to $400, sellers can pay for services like "Amazon Magic," as one broker on encrypted messaging service Telegram calls it. The Telegram group has over 13,000 members, and it's far from the only one. A public Facebook page identified by CNBC offers an internal screenshot service with "valuable insight into your seller account, allowing you to see how Amazon employees view your account and its performance." Account annotations, internal notes from an Amazon staffer on a seller's account, were among the confidential data being exchanged between the defendants and employees. The Amazon Magic group on Telegram is public, with users advertising black hat services almost daily.

Persons: Johnny Milano, Christy Distefano, Remi Vaughn Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, Telegram, Facebook Groups, Walmart, CNBC, Facebook, Amazon ., LinkedIn, Amazon, Street Journal, Department of Justice, FBI Locations: Melville , New York, China, India, Costa Rica, Ukraine

☆ Amazon wants its delivery companies to repair more of their broken vans — causing some couriers to panic
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Amazon's delivery service partners will soon need 95% of their vans ready for service at all times. Some Amazon delivery companies are panicking over a new rule that would force them to keep fewer vans in need of repair. One DSP owner called the change a "giant nightmare" for small businesses already struggling with costs. An Amazon spokesperson told Insider the company is working with Rivian to provide repair options. Amazon told Insider the changes are intended to improve safety for delivery associates and maximize future revenue for DSPs.

Persons: it's, Rivian, Jimmy Wilson, Wilson, That's Organizations: Amazon, Partners, DSPs, Vehicles, West Coast, Coast DSP, DSP Locations: Coast

☆ Amazon wants its delivery companies to repair more of their broken vans — and some of the couriers are panicking
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Amazon's delivery service partners will soon need 95% of their vans ready for service at all times. Some Amazon delivery companies are panicking over a new rule that would force them to keep fewer vans in need of repair. One DSP owner called the change a "giant nightmare" for small businesses already struggling with costs. Amazon delivery companies worry about an aging fleetAmazon's new rule would require a delivery company with a fleet of 50 vans to keep no more than two vans out of service at a time. "The big issue is that most of Amazon's fleet is aging rapidly," said another West Coast DSP owner.

Persons: it's, Jimmy Wilson, Wilson, That's Organizations: Partners, DSPs, Vehicles, West Coast, Coast DSP, Amazon, DSP Locations: Coast

☆ Almost 30,000 Amazon employees have signed an internal petition to fight the company's return-to-office mandate. Read the full copy here.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

New mandate requires most office workers to come into the office at least 3 times a week starting in May. About 3 weeks since the announcement of the new policy, more than 29,200 Amazon employees have signed an internal petition opposing the mandate. Roughly 30,000 Amazon employees have joined that Slack channel, which was created shortly after the RTO announcement. In the petition, Amazon employees added internal data supporting continued remote work and dozens of comments explaining why they oppose the change. A 2013 Stanford University study of Chinese workers found that remote workers are 13% more productive than their in-office counterparts.

☆ Hundreds of Amazon employees join a new Slack channel to support the company's return-to-office policy after 'sensing the danger' of others calling for permanent remote work
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Some Amazon staff created a new Slack channel to support the company's new return-to-office mandate. The move came after thousands of employees joined a separate Slack channel opposing the RTO plan. Amazon employees are showing far more support for the Slack channel that opposes the new RTO policy. Hundreds of Amazon employees joined a new Slack channel last week that supports the company's new return-to-office policy, Insider has learned — just days after a much larger group of staff rushed to a separate Slack channel that's fighting against the RTO mandate. Still, remote work seems to have more support from Amazon employees, at least based on the number of people in each of the Slack channels.

☆ Amazon's corporate employees will be paid up to 50% less in 2023 because of its falling stock price, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon corporate employees will be paid up to 50% less in 2023 due to its falling share price, the WSJ reported. Salaries this year are likely 15% to 50% lower than the estimations given to Amazon staff, people familiar with the matter told the Journal. Stock units are issued to staff on the basis that the company's share price will increase around 15% every year, sources told the Journal. The sources added that expectations were that the company's share price would be around $170 this year, rather than the $97 where it currently trades. Amazon's decreasing stock price reflects a wider economic slowdown, as well as slowing growth in its retail business.

☆ Amazon warns employees not to share confidential information with ChatGPT after seeing cases where its answer 'closely matches existing material' from inside the company
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

An Amazon lawyer warned employees about sharing confidential company information with ChatGPT. Others wondered if they were even allowed to use the AI tool for work. She warned employees not to provide ChatGPT with "any Amazon confidential information (including Amazon code you are working on)," according to a screenshot of the message seen by Insider. Overall, Amazon employees in the Slack channel were excited about the potential of ChatGPT, and wondered if Amazon was working on a competing product. For Amazon employees, data privacy seems to be the least of their concerns.

☆ Big Tech's wipeout sends workers scrambling
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Matt Turner | Dave Smith | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Hi, I'm Matt Turner, the editor in chief of business at Insider. Up first: I just returned to New York after a few days in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum. It was intense and informative, packed with meetings with business leaders and government ministers from around the world. Davos, Switzerland Hanna Erasmus and EyeEm/Getty ImagesMore than 1,500 business leaders descended on Davos in the Swiss Alps last week. Saumya Khandelwal/Hindustan Times via Getty ImagesIt was a wipeout at Silicon Valley's tech giants this week.

☆ Leaked Amazon screenshots show employees scrambling to identify teams affected by layoffs. Here's a list of more than 35 groups getting cuts.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In an internal Slack channel, Amazon staff shared team names and job levels to add clarity to the process. As Amazon began the largest layoffs in company history on Wednesday, an internal Slack channel blew up with employees sharing details about the job cuts. The layoffs-related Slack channel has over 37,000 members. "It's been moving so fast, I can't keep up with scrolling," another person told Insider about the Slack channel. Many employees in the Slack channel expressed shock and surprise.

☆ Inside Amazon, there's chatter, and jokes, about Jeff Bezos coming back as CEO in the midst of massive layoffs and a plummeting stock price
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Eugene Kim | Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Some Amazon employees are calling for Jeff Bezos to return as CEO. Some Amazon employees are calling for the return of founder Jeff Bezos as CEO in the midst of massive layoffs and a plunging stock price. "Apparently not even Andy is safe," one employee wrote, referring to Jassy who took over from Bezos as CEO in July 2021. "He should come…he is the best," another employee wrote, referring to Bezos. In the turkey-themed email, viewed by Insider, the CEO acknowledged challenges, thanked Amazon employees, and called for resilience and optimism.

☆ German union warns Amazon of rolling pre-Christmas strikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Dec 18 (Reuters) - German union Verdi on Sunday called on workers at Amazon warehouses across Germany to support rolling strikes in coming days in a protest over pay, aimed at maximising disruption to the online retailer's pre-Christmas business. Amazon, which does not recognise collective bargaining agreements in Germany, did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment. Verdi said Amazon staff in Germany earned several thousand euros a year less than their counterparts at companies with collective bargaining rights. It said alternating strikes would hinder Amazon management's attempts to prepare for stoppages. The union did not immediately respond to a question as to whether its Amazon members had been balloted over the strike action.

☆ Black tech workers at Apple, Shopify, Google, explain the anxious mood at their companies right now, but remain excited for the future
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Monica Melton | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Over one hundred tech companies like Apple, Google, Amazon, and Shopify were represented at the event. Black tech workers shared insights, hopes and fears about the current economic environment. The brainchild of Blavity CEO Morgan DeBaun, AfroTech, in its sixth year, is a gathering of Black professionals and companies that hope to hire them. But at a time when tech companies across sectors are scaling back hiring and doing mass layoffs, job prospects can feel slim. It's a tumultuous time to be in tech and Black workers may be feeling that in a different way.

☆ Black tech workers at Apple, Google, Shopify and more shed light on what it's like inside their companies right now
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Monica Melton | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Over one hundred tech companies like Apple, Google, Amazon, and Shopify were represented at the event. Black tech workers shared insights, hopes and fears about the current economic environment. But at a time when tech companies across sectors are scaling back hiring and doing mass layoffs, job prospects can feel slim. An Apple employee who asked not to be identified talking to media noted Apple is doubling down on its minimal remote work policy. It's a tumultuous time to be in tech and Black workers may be feeling that in a different way.

☆ In the midst of Amazon's record layoffs, corporate employees of the company float a forbidden word: Union
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Katherine Long | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A small group of corporate Amazon staff is discussing unionizing, according to messages seen by Insider. There, a small group of corporate employees have been openly discussing the pros and cons of labor activism, including organizing into a union. Though only one warehouse has successfully voted to unionize, organizing efforts are active in at least seven Amazon locations. And now, with about 10,000 corporate jobs on the line, union activism is picking up here, too. Members of the Discord group have brought up the Alphabet Workers Union, a minority union representing roughly 1,000 Alphabet employees and affiliated with the Communications Workers of America, as a possible model.

☆ Some Amazon staffers joked that the writers of its mega-expensive 'Lord of the Rings' series should be laid off after the company cut thousands of roles
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Travis Clark | Katherine Long | Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Some Amazon staffers have joked that the "Rings of Power" writers should be laid off. "The Rings of Power" was hit with a mixed reception, and Amazon has been quiet about its viewership. Several of those employees have joked that the writers of Amazon's uber-expensive series, "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power," should be laid off, Insider reported. No press release followed its season finale; by contrast, HBO released viewership for the finale of its own fantasy series, "House of the Dragon," the next day. And judging by the jokes in the layoffs-focused Slack channel, that seems to even be a narrative within Amazon among staffers.

Search resuls for: "Amazon Staff"

25 mentions found