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☆ Amazon faces Senate probe over warehouse safety
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon's warehouse working conditions, which have come under increased scrutiny in recent years, are now at the heart of a congressional probe that's being led by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Steve Kelly, an Amazon spokesperson, told CNBC in a statement that the company has received Sanders' letter and is in the early stages of reviewing it. The HELP committee posted a form on its website seeking testimonials from current and former Amazon employees about their experiences at the company. Amazon faces ongoing federal probes into its safety record beyond the Senate's actions. Amazon says it's made progress on reducing injuries across its U.S. operations, and continues to invest in safety initiatives, projects and programs.

Persons: Sen, Bernie Sanders, Andy Jassy, Sanders, Jeff Bezos, Steve Kelly, Jassy, it's, It's, Howard Schultz, Bezos Organizations: Health, Education, Labor, Pensions, Democratic, Amazon, CNBC, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, U.S, Attorney's, Department of Justice, OSHA, Starbucks Locations: Vermont

☆ Why Amazon built a second headquarters and how the pandemic reshaped HQ2
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

This week, Amazon formally opened the doors of the first part of its new East Coast headquarters, dubbed HQ2, in northern Virginia. It raises the question why Amazon, with its sprawling campus in Seattle and a growing real estate footprint globally, needed to build a second headquarters. HQ2 has some of the same quirks as Amazon's Seattle campus. The towers feature plant-filled terraces and a rooftop urban farm that echoes the feel of the "Spheres," botanical gardenlike workspaces that anchor Amazon's Seattle office. Amazon's HQ2 features some of the same quirks as its Seattle headquarters, like a community banana stand.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, John Schoettler, Schoettler, John, Glenn Youngkin, Tasha Dooley, Bezos, Holly Sullivan, Sullivan, HQ2, wouldn't Organizations: Amazon, Microsoft, Puget, Seattle, Metropolitan Park, Companies, Employees Locations: Coast, Virginia, Arlington, Seattle, Redmond , Washington, HQ2, North America, New York's Long Island City, Crystal City, Arlington , Virginia, Long Island City, Nashville , Tennessee, Bellevue, There's

☆ Amazon will not host re:MARS robotics and AI conference this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon doesn't plan to host its re:MARS conference on cutting-edge technologies like robotics and space this year, the company confirmed on Friday. It will incorporate the subjects into its existing lineup of Amazon Web Services events. The decision to cancel re:MARS was not made for budgetary reasons, Amazon said. Amazon used re:MARS to spotlight some of its futuristic innovations, such as delivery drones, warehouse robots, and its first home robot. At last year's conference, Amazon demonstrated a feature where its Alexa digital assistant impersonated a deceased relative.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, Andy Jassy, Bezos Organizations: Amazon Web, Machine, Robotics, Amazon, Amazon Care, Amazon Web Services, CNBC

☆ iRobot shares surge after UK regulator clears Amazon acquisition
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Amazon 's planned $1.7 billion acquisition of iRobot , the maker of Roomba vacuums, has been greenlit by Britain's competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority said it determined the deal would not result in "a substantial lessening of competition" in the U.K. An Amazon spokesperson told CNBC in a statement: "We're pleased with the UK Competition and Markets Authority's decision and are committed to supporting regulatory bodies in their work. Amazon announced last year it would acquire iRobot for $1.7 billion, as part of a move to deepen its presence in the smart home. WATCH: Amazon's smart home dominance and how it could grow with iRobot acquisition

Persons: Roomba, We're Organizations: iRobot, Markets Authority, CMA, Amazon, CNBC, Competition, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Union

☆ Amazon is using generative A.I. to summarize product reviews
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Packages move along a conveyor belt at an Amazon Fulfillment center on Cyber Monday in Robbinsville, New Jersey, on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. Amazon is turning to artificial intelligence to help users find the right product. The e-retailer recently began testing a feature in its shopping app that uses AI to summarize reviews left by customers on some products. A mobile listing for a children's "Magic Mixies" cauldron toy says that buyers gave positive feedback around its "fun factor, appearance, value, performance, quality, charging, and leakage." "For example, some customers have paid over $100 for a toy that wasn't worth it, while others have experienced issues with the product's quality and charging."

Locations: Robbinsville , New Jersey

Amazon remains dominant in e-commerce and cloud computing with Amazon Web Services. "But what we've seen recently is a company simply pursuing too many ideas, with weaker ideas taking away the oxygen, capital, and most importantly focus from the truly disruptive initiatives that 'only Amazon can do.'" Amazon shares are up 50% year to date, but they've underperformed top peers by about 52% over a five-year period, he said. Amazon should "divest, seek outside funding, or trim spend" in health care and its nascent low Earth orbit satellite venture, called Project Kuiper, Shmulik wrote. He pointed to Amazon's multiyear effort to break into health care, before abandoning efforts like its Care telehealth service, Halo health and fitness band, and a joint health-care venture called Haven.

Persons: Bernstein, Andy Jassy, Mark Shmulik, —, Google —, Shmulik, Jeff Bezos, Jassy, Bezos, irrelevance Organizations: Amazon Web, Microsoft, Google, Amazon Locations: New York, Haven

☆ Telecom stocks fall on report Amazon considers launching mobile service for Prime members
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon is in talks with several wireless carriers about launching a mobile service for Prime members, according to a report from Bloomberg. The e-retailer is negotiating with Verizon, T-Mobile and Dish about the possibility of reselling their mobile services to its Prime members at low cost or potentially free, Bloomberg reported. Launched in 2005, Amazon Prime members pay $139 a year for access to free two-day shipping, access to exclusive movies and TV shows, as well as newer benefits like generic prescription discounts and Grubhub delivery perks. By partnering up with a company like Verizon or Dish, Amazon would essentially function as a mobile virtual network operator. Instead of owning its own wireless network, the company would purchase data from a large carrier and resell it to consumers.

Persons: Bradley Mattinger Organizations: Bloomberg, Verizon, Mobile, Dish, Amazon, CNBC, Walmart

☆ Amazon's North America fulfillment head is leaving
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A worker sorts out parcels in the outbound dock at Amazon fulfillment center in Eastvale, California on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. One of Amazon 's top operations executives is leaving the e-retailer, the company confirmed. Melissa Nick, a vice president of North America customer fulfillment, will depart the company June 16, Amazon said. Nick reported to Yonatan Gal, a vice president in charge of overseeing Amazon's fulfillment supply chain, equipment maintenance and repairs, as well as fulfillment execution, in North America, according to internal company documents viewed by CNBC. Chris Vonderhaar, a vice president in charge of Amazon Web Services data centers, is leaving the company, GeekWire reported on Monday.

Persons: Melissa Nick, Amazon, Nick, Barbara Agrait, Melissa, Yonatan, Stefano Perego, John Felton, Amazon's, Andy Jassy's, Andy Jassy, Chris Vonderhaar, GeekWire, Jay Carney, Dave Clark Organizations: North, Amazon, CNBC, Amazon Web, Airbnb, Amazon Logistics Locations: Eastvale , California, North America, Europe

☆ Amazon workers plan to walk out over 'lack of trust' in leadership
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Amazon employees plan to walk off the job Wednesday in protest of the company's recent return-to-office mandate, layoffs and its environmental record. ET, with about 900 of those workers gathering outside the Spheres, the massive glass domes that anchor Amazon's Seattle headquarters, according to employee groups behind the effort. The walkout is being organized in part by Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, an influential worker organization that has repeatedly pressed the e-retailer on its climate stance. The group said employees are walking out to highlight a "lack of trust in company leadership's decision making." Amazon employees are walking off the job at a precarious time inside the company.

Persons: Andy Jassy, Brad Glasser, we've, Glasser, Amazon Organizations: Seattle, Amazon Employees, Climate Justice, Employees, Amazon, CNBC, Puget, The Center, Investigative, Greenhouse, Accounting Locations: Seattle , Washington, Seattle, Seattle , New York, Northern California

Amazon will pay the Federal Trade Commission more than $30 million to settle allegations of privacy lapses in its Alexa and Ring divisions, according to filings on Wednesday. A separate suit alleges Amazon violated the FTC Act and Children's Online Privacy Protection Act by illegally retaining thousands of children's information through their profiles with the Alexa voice assistant. Under the proposed settlement, Amazon will have to delete inactive child accounts as well as some voice recordings and geolocation information. Amazon has faced scrutiny over the data that's collected by its kids-oriented Echo smart speakers, which use Alexa to respond to commands. Amazon will also have to implement a privacy program to govern its use of geolocation information.

Organizations: Amazon, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Justice, COPPA

Raoul Sreenivasan, who joined Amazon in 2016 and currently oversees planning, performance and cargo for Amazon Global Air, will take over most of Rhoads' Amazon Air responsibilities, Felton said. As part of an effort to handle and deliver more of its own packages, Amazon launched an air cargo business. Rhoads joined Amazon Air in its early days and has overseen much of the unit's growth, including the opening of a $1.5 billion air hub in Kentucky. Air cargo rates have plunged from record highs hit during late 2021, when port snarls and a dearth of international flights pinched capacity and drove up prices. Correction: Sarah Rhoads joined Amazon in 2011.

Persons: Mark Makela Sarah Rhoads, John Felton, Amazon's, Rhoads, Felton, Raoul Sreenivasan, Sreenivasan, Andy Jassy, Becky Gansert, Heather MacDougall, Pam Greer, Sarah Rhoads Organizations: Lehigh Valley International, Amazon, CNBC, Amazon Global Air, Amazon Global, DHL, TNT Express, FedEx, U.S . Navy, UPS, Amazon Air, Atlas, Boeing, Hawaiian Airlines, Airbus, Air, U.S, Bloomberg ., Amazon Logistics Locations: Allentown , Pennsylvania, U.S, Kentucky

☆ Snowflake shares plunge 12% on guidance miss, acquisition of search startup Neeva
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The bulk of Snowflake sales come from product revenue, which expanded 50% year over year. Product revenue accounts for use of Snowflake's software for storing and running queries on data stored in its system. Snowflake said it anticipates product revenue will be between $620 million and $625 million in the fiscal second quarter. For the 2024 fiscal year, Snowflake called for product revenue of $2.6 billion. Snowflake also announced it plans to acquire Neeva, the privacy-focused search company co-founded by former Google executive Sridhar Ramaswamy.

Persons: Snowflake, Sridhar Ramaswamy, Benoit Dageville, Snowflake's, Dageville, CNBC's Ashley Capoot Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Refinitiv Revenue Locations: Tues, Snowflake

☆ Amazon lets users buy alcohol with its palm-scanning payment system
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Amazon is adding a feature to its palm-based payment system that will allow users to buy alcohol by swiping their hand. The system, called Amazon One, lets people pay for items by placing their palm over a scanning device. To purchase alcohol, users have to upload a government-issued ID on the Amazon One website, the company wrote in a blog post on Monday. To start, the Coors Field baseball stadium in Denver, Colorado, will let attendees use Amazon One to purchase alcohol, Amazon said. Amazon One and other payment systems that use biometric data have faced some pushback from privacy advocates.

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailAmazon drones make 100th delivery, lagging far behind Alphabet's Wing and Walmart partner ZiplineAmazon says its Prime Air drones recently completed 100 deliveries in two small U.S. markets. Meanwhile, competitors like Alphabet's Wing and Walmart partner Zipline have made hundreds of thousands of deliveries, although most of those have been overseas in Australia and Africa. The U.S. is a tough regulatory environment, with strict rules about flying over roads and people and beyond line of sight. Yet some companies have been granted broader certifications. Here's how Amazon fell behind.

☆ Amazon's Alexa head says company is 'at the forefront of A.I.' as chatbots explode
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

That's pressured companies like Amazon to showcase their own capabilities in generative AI. Amazon's biggest entry into the market thus far has been through an AI service for cloud customers. However, Rohit Prasad, Amazon's senior vice president and head scientist for Alexa, said it's wrong to think the e-retailer has missed out in generative AI, which allows people to convert text-based queries into creative and thorough answers. "Alexa has been and is at the forefront of AI for a long time," Prasad told CNBC in an interview. Large language models power generative AI, and Alexa is already powered by Amazon's LLM.

☆ Amazon announces new Echo with funky design and revamped earbuds
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

In this article AMZN Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTAmazon announced the Echo Pop, which sports a semi-sphere design and a front-facing speaker. AmazonAmazon on Wednesday announced two new Echo smart speakers, including one with a funky, semisphere design, and a revamped version of its Echo Buds headphones. The Echo Pop will cost $39.99, making it cheaper than many of Amazon's existing Echo devices. In a departure from the earlier Echo Buds, the headphones aren't fully in-ear and have a short stem. Amazon introduced a third-generation version of its Echo Buds headphones.

☆ Walmart-backed DroneUp is cutting jobs as drone delivery market struggles
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

DroneUp, a Walmart -backed startup competing alongside Amazon and others in the nascent drone delivery market, is cutting jobs across the company, CNBC has learned. DroneUp is one of several startups racing to make drone delivery a reality. UPS , Amazon and Alphabet 's Wing unit are also in various stages of developing their own drone delivery services. Attempts at scaling commercial drone delivery in the U.S. have been slow moving, largely due to technical challenges and a lengthy regulatory approval process with the Federal Aviation Administration. The economic downturn has also proven a setback for some drone delivery operators.

☆ CEO of fitness band maker Whoop mocks the demise of Amazon's Halo health device
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The CEO of Whoop, a fitness band favored by athletes, is claiming victory over Amazon after the e-retailer pulled the plug on its line of Halo devices. Amazon said last week it will discontinue its Halo health and fitness devices, and shut down the Halo program, resulting in some employees being let go. Whoop CEO Will Ahmed said he views the demise of Halo as a win for his startup. He claimed the Halo wristband, which tracks users' physical activity, sleep and mood, was a knockoff of Whoop's own device. Whoop launched its first product, the Whoop 1.0, in 2015.

☆ Shopify cuts 20% of its workforce; shares surge on earnings beat
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Shopify on Thursday announced it's cutting 20% of its workforce. The news came as it reported first-quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines. CEO Tobi Lütke announced the job cuts in a memo to employees posted to the company's website. The cuts mark the second round of layoffs for the Canadian e-commerce company. The company reported revenue of $1.51 billion, which exceeded projections of $1.43 billion, according to Refinitiv.

☆ Shopify offloads logistics business to Flexport
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Shopify is selling its logistics unit to supply chain technology company Flexport, the companies announced Thursday. The sale marks a reversal for Shopify, which had spent years building out its own logistics and order-fulfillment operations. Shopify and Flexport are deepening their alliance as Shopify seeks to compete with e-commerce rivals such as Amazon and Walmart . Clark said in an interview that the acquisition will allow Flexport to scale the shipping capabilities it can offer for Shopify merchants, and other online businesses. Shopify will also retain its Shopify Fulfillment Network app where merchants manage their logistics process.

☆ Wall Street analysts say Amazon is still a buy, but investors should ‘stay patient’ on AWS
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon is still a buy after its latest earnings results, even with some weakness in Amazon Web Services, according to Wall Street analysts. The online retail stock initially jumped Thursday night after Amazon reported better-than-expected revenue in its first quarter . Amazon shares were last down about 1% in the premarket. AMZN 1D mountain Amazon shares 1-day However, analysts stayed bullish long term on Amazon, citing continued upside in retail, but they urged investors to "stay patient" on AWS and look toward the long-term opportunity in cloud services. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs' Eric Sheridan reiterated his buy rating on Amazon, and raised his 12-month price target to $165 from $145.

Dropbox CEO Drew Houston speaks onstage during the Dropbox Work In Progress Conference at Pier 48 on September 25, 2019 in San FranciscoDropbox on Thursday announced plans to cut 500 employees, or about 16% of its workforce, according to a blog post on the company's website. Dropbox CEO Drew Houston said in the blog post that the company has been reckoning with slowing growth, in part due to a maturation of its business, but also as a result of economic headwinds that are pressuring its customers. This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

Amazon is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings after market close Thursday. Last quarter, Amazon Web Services missed estimates, growing 20% in the period, down from 27.5% in the third quarter. They said AWS growth is likely to come in at 13% in the first quarter. Amazon is also contending with decelerating growth in its core retail segment. Even amid the cost cuts, Jassy said Amazon is investing in areas like grocery, health care, its Kuiper internet satellite service and generative artificial intelligence.

Amazon will no longer sell its Halo health and fitness tracker, the company announced Wednesday. Amazon will stop supporting Halo devices and the Halo app on July 31. "At Amazon, we think big, experiment, and invest in new ideas like Amazon Halo in our efforts to delight customers," the company said. "While we are proud of what we built, we recently made the difficult decision to stop supporting Amazon Halo effective July 31, 2023." The company said it will refund any purchases made in the last year of Halo View, Halo Band, Halo Rise and Halo accessory bands.

Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky and human resources head Beth Galetti sent notes to staffers informing them of the job cuts. I wanted to let you know that conversations with impacted AWS employees started today, with notification messages sent to all impacted employees in the U.S., Canada, and Costa Rica. In other regions, we are following local processes, which may include time for consultation with employee representative bodies and possibly result in longer timelines to communicate with impacted employees. To those to whom we are saying goodbye today, thank you for everything you have done for this business and our customers. In other regions, we are following local processes, which may include time for consultation with employee representative bodies and possibly result in longer timelines to communicate with impacted employees.

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