Amazon cuts ‘several hundred’ jobs in Alexa division

Published

2 years ago

November 17, 2023

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Visitors at Amazon Alexa boot during the international electronics and innovation fair IFA in Berlin on September 10, 2019.

Nurphoto | Getty Images

Amazon on Friday began laying off “several hundred” people in its Alexa division as part of broader belt-tightening that’s been underway since last year, the company confirmed.

Daniel Rausch, Amazon’s vice president of Alexa and Fire TV, sent a note to staffers informing them of the job cuts, according to a copy of the memo shared by an Amazon spokesperson.

“As we continue to invent, we’re shifting some of our efforts to better align with our business priorities, and what we know matters most to customers — which includes maximizing our resources and efforts focused on generative AI,” Rausch wrote in the memo, which was reported earlier by GeekWire. “These shifts are leading us to discontinue some initiatives, which is resulting in several hundred roles being eliminated.”

Amazon didn’t specify which Alexa initiatives it’s winding down as a result of the move.

The company will reach out on Friday to employees in the U.S. and Canada who were affected. Staffers in India will be notified next week, while timing in other regions is dependent on local regulations, Rausch said.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has been in cost-cutting mode since last year as the company reckons with an economic downturn and slowing growth in its core retail business. The company initiated the largest layoffs in its history, cutting more than 27,000 jobs, and axed many of its more unprofitable initiatives. Amazon previously cut employees in its devices and services division, which includes Alexa.

Since its launch in 2014, Amazon has made big investments in Alexa and assigned top talent to grow the technology, largely at the direction of Jeff Bezos, who first pitched Alexa and strongly believed voice would play a key role in how people interact with computers in the future. At one point, Amazon had 5,000 people working on Alexa and Echo.

Alexa and digital assistants like it were once groundbreaking technology, but they face increasing competition from generative artificial intelligence and chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. In September, Amazon teased updates to Alexa that are tied to generative AI, such as composing messages on behalf of users. The unit overseeing Alexa also has a new leader, after longtime devices head Dave Limp left to join Bezos’ rocket company Blue Origin. Limp was succeeded by veteran Microsoft executive Panos Panay.

Rausch said Amazon remains “encouraged by the progress we’re making with Alexa,” noting that users have interacted with the virtual assistant “tens of millions of times every hour,” and there are more than 500 million Alexa devices in consumers’ homes.

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Social media users report Netflix outage during ‘Stranger Things’ premiere

Published

7 hours ago

November 27, 2025

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Social media users report Netflix outage during 'Stranger Things' premiere

A Netflix logo is on display at the Lucca Comics & Games 2025 event, one of Europe’s largest pop culture conventions, as stars and creators of “Stranger Things” series launch Season 5, in Lucca, Italy, October 31, 2025.

Claudia Greco | Reuters

Users on social media posted that they were experiencing issues with Netflix’s service on Wednesday, the night of the widely anticipated “Stranger Things” fifth-season premiere.

DownDetector.com on Wednesday said “User reports indicate problems at Netflix.”

“Netflix fix your app bro,” one X user posted.

Users began reporting issues with Netflix around 7:40 p.m. Eastern, according to DownDetector.com. Netflix had said the latest season of “Stranger Things” would go live Wednesday at 8 p.m. Eastern.

Netflix said it would release the first four episodes of the “Stranger Things” fifth season on Wednesday. The streaming service has said it will release another three episodes on Dec. 25 and the final episode of the show on Dec. 31.

The company did not respond to a request for comment.

This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.

Technology

CNBC Daily Open: An early Thanksgiving celebration in U.S. markets

Published

7 hours ago

November 27, 2025

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CNBC Daily Open: An early Thanksgiving celebration in U.S. markets

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., Nov. 26, 2025.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Thanksgiving in the U.S. takes place on Thursday stateside, but the feasting might have begun a day early for investors. The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite all recorded a fourth straight day of gains.

Shares of Oracle, which have been hobbling along in November after wiping out its one-day spike in September, advanced roughly 4% after Deutsche Bank said that its recent price pullback “presents an attractive entry point for investors when looking at Oracle’s business in totality.” Other technology and AI-related stocks, such as Nvidia and Microsoft, rose in sympathy.

“Thanksgiving week is generally a strong week in the markets. Everyone’s feeling good,” said Eric Diton, president and managing director at The Wealth Alliance.

It’s what happens after Thanksgiving that might cause some pause.

The futures market is now pricing in a roughly 85% chance the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point in December. When expectations are too high — and not met — disappointment will be all the more painful.

“If the Fed disappoints, you could have a sell-off,” Diton said — but added, “I don’t think they will.”

And if White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett does assume the role of Fed chair when Jerome Powell vacates his seat, rates could trend even lower in the future, wrote Bank of America economist Aditya Bhave.

Looser monetary policy tends to provide more support for stocks — that notion seems to be behind optimistic targets for the S&P 500 by the end of 2026. So far, the numbers that have been floated are 7,400 from CFRA Chief Investment Strategist Sam Stovall, and as high as 8,000 from JPMorgan.

Investors indeed have much to be thankful for in 2025 — and possibly the next year as well.

What you need to know today

Fourth straight day of gains for U.S. stocks. Major indexes closed higher on Wednesday, lifted by technology firms such as Oracle and Nvidia. Europe’s Stoxx 600 added 1.09%. U.K. banks climbed following the release of the country’s budget.

Apple’s smartphone shipments to overtake Samsung. The company will ship around 243 million iPhones this year, higher than the 235 million smartphones from Samsung, Counterpoint Research wrote. It’d be the first time in 14 years Apple will outstrip its rival.

UK unveils its Autumn Budget. Some measures Finance Minister Rachel Reeves announced on Wednesday include tax breaks for startup employees and investors, and frozen income tax thresholds — which have been described as “stealth tax” for workers.

AI can replace 11.7% of U.S. workforce, MIT says. That’s equivalent to $1.2 trillion in wages across finance, health care and professional services. The study, which was released Wednesday by the university, created a simulation of 151 million U.S. workers.

[PRO] The S&P 500 to hit 8,000 next year? A JPMorgan strategist thinks the broad-based index will end 2026 at 7,500, roughly 10% higher than Wednesday’s close. But if certain events happen, he thinks the S&P 500 could touch even higher levels.