Connect with us

Published

on

Andy Jassy, chief executive officer of Amazon.Com Inc., during the GeekWire Summit in Seattle, Washington, U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021.

David Ryder | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Amazon is planning to lay off approximately 10,000 employees in corporate and technology roles beginning this week, according to a report from The New York Times. Separately, The Wall Street Journal also cited a source saying the company plans to lay off thousands of employees.

Shares of Amazon were down about 2.5% on Monday.

The cuts would be the largest in the company’s history and would primarily impact Amazon’s devices organization, retail division and human resources, according to the report. The reported layoffs would represent less than 1% of Amazon’s global workforce and 3% of its corporate employees.

The report follows headcount reductions at other tech firms. Meta announced last week that it’s laying off more than 13% of its staff, or more than 11,000 employees, and Twitter laid off approximately half its workforce in the days following Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of the company.

Amazon reported 798,000 employees at the end of 2019 but had 1.6 million full- and part-time employees as of Dec. 31, 2021, a 102% increase. The New York Times said the total number of layoffs “remains fluid” and could change.

A representative from Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The holiday shopping season is critical for Amazon, and usually, one where the company has increased its headcount to meet demand. But Andy Jassy, who took over as CEO in July 2021, has been in cost-cutting mode to preserve cash as the company confronts slowing sales and a gloomy global economy.

The company has already announced plans to freeze hiring for corporate roles in its retail business. In recent months, Amazon shut down its telehealth service, discontinued a quirky, video-calling projector for kidsclosed all but one of its U.S. call centers, axed its roving delivery robot, shuttered underperforming brick-and-mortar chains, and is closing, canceling or delaying some new warehouse locations.

Amazon reported disappointing third-quarter earnings in October that spooked investors and caused shares to sink more than 13%. It marked the first time Amazon’s market cap fell below $1 trillion since April 2020, and the report was the second time this year that Amazon’s results have been enough to spark a double-digit percentage sell-off. The sell-off continued for days after the report and erased almost all of the stock’s pandemic surge.

Amazon stock is down about 41% for the year, more than the 14% drop in the S&P 500, and is on pace for its worst year since 2008.

— CNBC’s Annie Palmer contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Technology

Apple shares pop 5% ahead of Trump-Cook investment announcement at White House

Published

on

By

Apple shares pop 5% ahead of Trump-Cook investment announcement at White House

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 09, 2025 in Cupertino, California.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Apple shares popped 5% Wednesday, ahead of an Oval Office event touting an update to the company’s stated plans to spend and invest in the U.S.

CEO Tim Cook will join President Donald Trump for the announcement set for 4:30 p.m. ET.

Apple will up its previous commitment, made in February, from $500 billion to $600 billion over the next four years, a White House official told CNBC.

It will also announce a new manufacturing program called the American Manufacturing Program, the official said.

Cook has had a mixed relationship with Trump over the past year. While Trump has praised the Apple CEO in the past, in recent months he has said he has a “problem” with the executive and has pushed for Apple to assemble its iPhones in the U.S., not China or India.

Read more CNBC tech news

Apple faces over $1 billion in increased costs this quarter because of Trump’s tariffs on imports —primarily related to China — and Cook reminded investors last week that “the vast majority” of its products would be subject to pending new tariffs under a Section 232 investigation.

“We obviously try to optimize our supply chain, and ultimately we will do more in the United States,” Cook said.

Stock Chart IconStock chart icon

hide content

Apple YTD stock chart.

Continue Reading

Technology

Match Group pops 10% as dating company shows early signs of a turnaround

Published

on

By

Match Group pops 10% as dating company shows early signs of a turnaround

Pavlo Gonchar | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Match Group shares popped more than 10% on Wednesday after the online dating company issued upbeat guidance and said new products are showing promise as it attempts to turnaround its business.

The Dallas-based company said it expected revenues between $910 million and $920 million in the current quarter, beating a $890 million estimate from analysts polled by FactSet.

“We are operating like a company that is just getting started, and we believe the best chapters of the category and company are still ahead,” said CEO Spencer Rascoff during an earnings call Tuesday. “We are moving with urgency, we are obsessed with the product and we are building for the long term.”

Over the last year, Match and the broader online dating industry have grappled with slowing user engagement. The company has added more tools and features to its apps, including Tinder and Hinge, to lure back customers, especially Gen Z.

Match has also been the target of activists investors such as Starboard Value, which has pushed the company to innovate, cut costs and improve profitability or consider going private.

In an effort to revamp its business, Match appointed Zillow co-founder Rascoff as its new CEO in February. Under his direction, the company has implemented new artificial intelligence-powered tools and slashed roles.

Match also added new features such as AI-powered discovery to many of its services and a double date feature on Tinder. Rascoff on Tuesday said that 90% or customers using this feature are under age 30.

The company will also target the younger market with features geared toward college students and is planning to reinvest $50 million into new product development, Rascoff said.

In 2026 and 2027, Rascoff said he expects AI innovation and international growth to expand its Hinge platform’s leadership as Tinder becomes a “low-pressure, serendipitous experience designed for Gen Z.” Hinge, he said, is also on track to deliver quarterly year-over-year growth in 2025.

“Across the board, we believe the category will enter a new era, with renewed trust, strong demand and long-term growth potential,” he said.

Match posted in-line earnings of 49 cents per share. Revenues reached $864, topping the $854 million expected by analysts.

WATCH: Is Gen Z done with dating apps? Grindr CEO on generational trends

Is Gen Z done with dating apps? Grindr CEO on generational trends

Continue Reading

Technology

OpenAI is giving ChatGPT to the government for $1

Published

on

By

OpenAI is giving ChatGPT to the government for

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the US Federal Reserve Board of Governors’ “Integrated Review of the Capital Framework for Large Banks Conference” at the Federal Reserve in Washington, DC, on July 22, 2025.

Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images

OpenAI on Wednesday announced it will offer its ChatGPT Enterprise product to U.S. federal agencies for $1 through the next year, making its technology available to the federal executive branch workforce at “essentially no cost.”

The company has been working to deepen its ties to lawmakers and regulators in recent months, and it will open its first office in Washington, D.C., early next year.

OpenAI said participating agencies will get access to its frontier models through ChatGPT Enterprise, and it will also offer access to features like Advanced Voice Mode for an additional 60-day period.

The company has partnered with the U.S. General Services Administration to launch the initiative.

Read more CNBC tech news

“Helping government work better – making services faster, easier, and more reliable—is a key way to bring the benefits of AI to everyone,” OpenAI said in a blog post.  

In June, OpenAI launched a new offering called OpenAI for Government and said it was awarded a contract of up to $200 million by the U.S. Department of Defense.

The company is currently engaging in talks with investors about a potential stock sale at a valuation of roughly $500 billion, as CNBC previously reported.

OpenAI announced a $40 billion funding round in March at a $300 billion valuation, by far the largest amount ever raised by a private tech company.

Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO

OpenAI releases two new open-weight AI models

Continue Reading

Trending