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Reviews from these members often appear as an "Amazon Vine Review" or a "Vine Voice." Amazon said it prohibits review abuse, including offering incentives like gift cards to write positive reviews. The rise of ChatGPT and other AI chatbots could make it easier for bad actors to generate fraudulent reviews. Third-party sellers on Amazon are already using the tool to help write product listings and catchy titles, as well as marketing copy. WATCH: Many of the reviews on Amazon are fake, here's how to spot them

Amazon delivery drivers at one of the company's California facilities joined the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the union said Monday, in a win for labor organizers that have long sought to gain a foothold at the e-retailer. "We want fair pay and safe jobs, to be able to provide food for our families," said Rajpal Singh, an Amazon delivery driver at the Palmdale facility, in a statement. Randy Korgan, director of the Teamsters' Amazon division, said the union is "coordinating nationwide" with Amazon workers. So far, only one Amazon warehouse in the U.S. has voted to join a union. WATCH: Amazon drivers describe pressures and pitfalls of delivering for a DSP

☆ Earnings playbook: Your guide to a busy week of earnings, featuring Meta and Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

What history shows: GM has reported a better-than-expected bottom line in 29 of the last 30 quarters, per FactSet. McDonald's is set to report earnings in the premarket, with management slated to hold a call at 8:30 a.m. What history shows: History shows Google's parent company beats earnings expectations 68% of the time, with the stock averaging a gain of 1.6% on earnings day, per Bespoke. Meta Platforms is set to report earnings after market close, followed by a conference call at 5 p.m. What history shows: Bespoke data shows Intel beats earnings expectations 77% of the time.

Whole Foods plans to reorganize certain global and regional support teams over the next two months, the company's executive team wrote in a memo to employees on Thursday. Creating a unified, companywide Operations team by transitioning category-specific store operations support from regions to a single Field Support team within our Global Operations team. by transitioning category-specific store operations support from regions to a single Field Support team within our Global Operations team. Enhancing Team Member Services (TMS) support for Team Members and Leaders across the company by realigning TMS team structures. Adjusting structures and improving processes of several other Global Support teams to provide more effective, timely, and consistent support to stores and ensure support teams can focus on priority initiatives.

Amazon on Tuesday began laying off some employees in its advertising as part of CEO Andy Jassy's effort to rein in costs, the company confirmed. Jassy last month announced Amazon would lay off 9,000 employees, on top of the 18,000 cuts already announced last November and in January. In March, Jassy said the latest round would affect employees in Amazon's advertising, cloud computing, Twitch livestreaming and human resources divisions. Importantly, I want to acknowledge and thank our impacted colleagues for the work they have done on behalf of Amazon Ads customers. PaulWATCH: Watch CNBC's full interview with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on message to investors, new AI tools and stock price

☆ Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says he doesn't focus on the company's stock price
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said he doesn't pay much attention to the company's stock price, even after the shares lost half their value in 2022 amid fears of a recession and a bad year for tech stocks across the board. "I don't spend a lot of my time focused on the stock price," Jassy said Thursday in an interview with CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin on "Squawk Box." Jassy said he prefers to look at the stock's performance over the long term, rather than focusing on a snapshot in time. In 2021, when Jassy took over from founder Jeff Bezos, he was awarded a pay package worth roughly $212 million, of which a significant portion was comprised of Amazon stock. Amazon said in a proxy filing Thursday it did not grant Jassy any new stock in 2022.

☆ Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says he's confident he can get costs under control in shareholder letter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.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 workers seriously injured at more than twice the rate of other warehouses, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

That's more than double the rate of all non-Amazon warehouses, which had 3.2 serious injuries for every 100 workers. Amazon's serious injury rate fell by about 3% between 2021 and 2022. The rate shot up to 6.8 serious injuries for every 100 workers in 2021, compared to a rate of 5.9 serious injuries for every 100 workers in 2020. While Amazon's serious injury rate fell between 2021 and 2022, its overall injuries increased. In 2021, Amazon set a goal to halve its warehouse injury rate by 2025.

☆ Why Amazon quashed an Oregon bill that aimed to curb data center emissions
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

On what was recently farmland, Amazon data centers have been built as close as 50 feet from residential houses in the Loudoun Meadows neighborhood on January 20, 2023, in Aldie, VA. Amazon's opposition to the clean energy measure is at odds with its broader push to improve its environmental impact. Amazon says it's on a path to using 100% renewable energy across its business by 2025, and is the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy. Experts have said the nation's out-of-date electrical grid remains a barrier to accelerating the transition to clean energy sources. Amazon has pledged to get all of its data centers running on renewable energy, but it has yet to divest completely from fossil fuels.

☆ Amazon lays off more than 100 employees in its video games division: Read the memo here
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon is laying off roughly 100 employees across its video games division, an executive overseeing the unit wrote in a memo to staffers on Tuesday. Amazon's video games division has also experienced some turnover among its top ranks. Mike Frazzini, who helped launch Amazon's game studios, stepped down last March. And in January, John Smedley, who headed up Amazon Games' San Diego studio, exited the company. A spokesperson for Amazon confirmed the layoffs and the existence of the memo but declined further comment.

☆ Amazon sellers are using ChatGPT to help write product listings in sprawling marketplace
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesChad Rubin was looking for a way to spice up his Amazon listing for a vacuum hose. For assistance, Rubin turned to ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence chatbot that's gone viral since its launch late last year. Rubin asked ChatGPT to "generate 5 insanely clever and catchy headlines" for an infographic promoting his vacuum cleaner hose. A stream of YouTube videos, articles and LinkedIn posts have appeared in recent months touting the benefits of ChatGPT for Amazon sellers. Rubin said he plans to incorporate ChatGPT into a new tool that will help sellers quickly fine-tune their product listings.

☆ Amazon seller consultant admits to bribing employees to help clients; will plead guilty
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

An influential consultant for Amazon sellers admitted Monday to bribing employees of the e-commerce giant for information to help his clients boost sales and to get their suspended accounts reinstated. "On some occasions, I paid bribes, directly and indirectly, to Amazon employees to obtain annotations and reinstate suspended accounts. Behind the scenes, scammers have for years resorted to illicit tactics to squash competitors, artificially boost their listings or bypass Amazon's marketplace rules. "No one should pay bribes to Amazon employees to provide private Amazon information," Rosenberg wrote on Monday. Nor should anyone pay any Amazon employees for any other special favors regarding a seller's account."

☆ Lyft CEO and president to step down, former Amazon exec David Risher named as replacement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Lyft 's cofounders, CEO Logan Green and president John Zimmer, will soon step back from their day-to-day roles, the company announced on Monday. David Risher, a former retail executive at Amazon , will be CEO of the ridesharing company beginning April 17, when Green will step aside to serve as chair of the board. Zimmer will transition out of his role on June 30 to serve as vice chair of the Lyft board. Lyft shares have fallen more than 70% in the last year. Risher joined Amazon in 1997 as its first vice president of product and store development.

☆ Amazon's devices head ditched the Echo in his living room for a smart TV
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon said Wednesday it has sold more than 200 million Fire TV devices globally, up from 150 million last January. "I don't have an Echo in there anymore, I just use my TV," Limp said. Limp, as you'd expect, rejects the idea that an Alexa-powered Fire TV will cannibalize the company's Echo devices. A portion of the layoffs, which are expected to total 27,000 employees, landed in Limp's organization, which oversees the development of products such as Alexa, Echo smart speakers and Kindle e-readers. WATCH: Amazon TV is next step for company to move into internet of things

☆ Amazon's post-Bezos experiment hasn't gone exactly as planned
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos speaks during an Action on Forests and Land Use event on day three of COP26 at SECC on November 2, 2021 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. Since Jassy officially succeeded Bezos in July 2021, Amazon has experienced its most turbulent period since the dot-com crash. But whether it's bad luck, his own missteps or some combination of the two, Jassy is an unenviable position as only the second CEO in Amazon's history. So far, the Jassy era has been all about belt tightening and retrenchment from some of Amazon's more experimental pursuits. He made the decision to shutter all of its 4-star, Pop Up and Books stores and, earlier this year, announced Amazon would close some Fresh supermarkets and Go cashierless convenience marts.

☆ Amazon to lay off 9,000 more workers in addition to earlier cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The latest round will primarily impact Amazon's cloud computing, human resources, advertising and Twitch livestreaming businesses, Jassy said in the memo. Amazon is undergoing the largest layoffs in company history after it went on a hiring spree during the Covid-19 pandemic. Amazon froze hiring in its corporate workforce, axed some experimental projects and slowed warehouse expansion. Some may ask why we didn't announce these role reductions with the ones we announced a couple months ago. To those ultimately impacted by these reductions, I want to thank you for the work you have done on behalf of customers and the company.

☆ Here's why Apple has been able to avoid layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHere's why Apple has been able to avoid layoffsCNBC's Steve Kovach and Annie Palmer join 'Power Lunch' to discuss the layoffs in big tech companies and why Apple has avoided job cuts so far.

☆ Amazon's Twitch CEO steps down nearly 10 years after acquisition
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Emmett Shear, the CEO of Amazon 's live streaming service Twitch, is stepping down from his role, effective immediately, the company announced Thursday. After buying Twitch, Amazon was largely hands-off with the business, though it has offered Prime subscribers perks on the live streaming platform, like free games and in-game loot. Shear will be replaced by Twitch President Dan Clancy, who has been a "close partner" to Shear, he wrote in a blog post. "Twitch will always remain part of my extended family, a community where I grew in so many ways alongside Twitch itself." Earlier this month, Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff announced he was stepping down from his role at the home security subsidiary.

☆ Rivian is revisiting its exclusivity agreement with Amazon for EV delivery trucks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Sara Salinas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

One of Amazons new electric delivery vans from Rivian gets ready to leave the Amazon Distribution Facility on Cyber Monday on November 28, 2022 in Aurora, Colorado. Rivian and Amazon are in discussions to adjust the exclusivity clause of their agreement for the EV maker's electric delivery trucks, a company spokeswoman said Monday. Rivian spokeswoman Marina Norville said in a statement the company's relationship with Amazon has and continues to be a positive one. Rivian and Amazon struck a deal in 2019 to hand over 100,000 electric trucks to the e-commerce giant. Amazon began delivering packages with the vehicles in July, and Rivian last month touted 10 million packages delivered via the vans.

☆ Amazon's drone business can't get off the ground as regulations, weak demand stymie progress
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

He even had baseball caps made that said "D&R 2022" with the Prime Air logo on them. CEO Andy Jassy, who succeeded Bezos in mid-2021, hasn't talked a lot about Prime Air in public. Prime Air sites in Lockeford, College Station and Pendleton, Oregon, were all hit by the job cuts, further straining operations. An Amazon drone operator loads the single shoebox-size box that can fit inside its MK27-2 Prime Air drone AmazonIt was a surprising setback for Amazon. Meanwhile, Amazon is working on development of its next-generation Prime Air drone called the MK30, and known internally as CX-3.

☆ Silicon Valley investors and founders express shock over SVB's collapse, describe struggles to get money out
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Jonathan Vanian Ashley Capoot Jordan Novet Annie Palmer | Jonathan Vanian | Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Nikolas Kokovlis | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesVenture capitalists and technology executives are scrambling to make sense and account for the potential repercussions of the sudden implosion of Silicon Valley Bank on Friday. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Friday that U.S. federal regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank , the premiere financial institution for Silicon Valley tech startups for the past 40 years. On Friday, Yang returned to the Silicon Valley Bank branch 15 minutes before it opened to remove the remaining money. One person showed a tweet on their phone suggesting that bank employees had been instructed not to come to work. Watch: CEO's react to the closure of Silicon Valley Bank

☆ Amazon to close eight Go convenience stores in cost-cutting move
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The company will shut two Go stores in New York City, two locations in Seattle, and four stores in San Francisco. The stores will close on April 1, and Amazon said it will work to help affected employees secure other roles at the company. "In this case, we've decided to close a small number of Amazon Go stores in Seattle, New York City, and San Francisco. We remain committed to the Amazon Go format, operate more than 20 Amazon Go stores across the U.S., and will continue to learn which locations and features resonate most with customers as we keep evolving our Amazon Go stores." Amazon executives previously confirmed the company would close some Fresh supermarkets and Go stores following its fourth-quarter earnings results.

☆ Amazon pauses construction of second headquarters in Virginia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon HQ2 rendering showing the Helix, which includes work space, will also be open to the public select weekends every month. Amazon is pausing construction of its second headquarters, dubbed HQ2, in Virginia, the company confirmed to CNBC. John Schoettler, Amazon's real estate head, said in a statement the company is pushing out the groundbreaking of PenPlace, the second phase of the sprawling northern Virginia campus. "Our second headquarters has always been a multi-year project, and we remain committed to Arlington, Virginia, and the greater Capital Region." Amazon selected Arlington as the site of HQ2, in addition to the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York, as part of a closely watched, splashy search for a second headquarters that kicked off in 2017.

☆ Amazon Ring CEO steps down five years after acquisition
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Jamie Siminoff, the CEO of Amazon subsidiary Ring, is stepping down from the role later this month, the company announced Wednesday. Siminoff will take the role of chief inventor on March 22, and Elizabeth Hamren will succeed him as CEO. In addition to Ring, Hamren will also oversee Amazon Key, the company's in-home delivery service; shared network service Amazon Sidewalk; as well as Blink, another maker of home security cameras that Amazon acquired in 2017. The move comes five years after Amazon acquired Ring for a reported $1 billion in 2018. The program allows police and fire departments to request video footage recorded by Ring cameras.

☆ Amazon closes deal to buy primary care provider One Medical
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon on Wednesday said it had closed its $3.9 billion deal for primary care provider One Medical. Amazon agreed last July to acquire One Medical to deepen its presence in health care, and "dramatically improve" the experience of getting medical care. The deal gives Amazon access to One Medical's more than 200 brick-and-mortar medical offices in 26 markets, and roughly 815,000 members. In a statement, he said health care is ripe for disruption, citing long appointment times and the complexities of primary care. "Together, we believe we can make the health care experience easier, faster, more personal, and more convenient for everyone."

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