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Amazon has lost a high-profile executive in its drone delivery unit who was the company’s primary liaison with federal regulators, CNBC has learned.

Sean Cassidy, Prime Air’s director of safety, flight operations and regulatory affairs, announced his departure from the company last week in an internal note to employees, a copy of which was viewed by CNBC. Amazon hired Cassidy, a former Alaska Airlines pilot and vice president of the world’s largest pilots union, in 2015 to oversee strategic partnerships in the drone program.

“This is my last day at Prime Air and at Amazon, so a quick note to pass along my profound thanks to so many of my friends and colleagues here who have made this nearly nine year journey such an amazing experience,” Cassidy wrote in the memo.

Cassidy oversaw much of Amazon’s relations with the Federal Aviation Administration as it sought to get the ambitious drone delivery program, a pet project of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, off the ground. Bezos predicted a decade ago that a fleet of Amazon drones would take to the skies in about five years, dropping packages on customers’ doorsteps in 30 minutes or less. That vision hasn’t materialized as quickly as Bezos hoped.

Amazon did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment about Cassidy’s departure.

In August 2020, Amazon received Part 135 certification from the FAA, allowing it to use drones to deliver packages, but with some restrictions. Last year, Amazon announced it would begin testing drone deliveries in two small markets in California and Texas.

But just as the program appeared to be set to expand, Prime Air in January was by affected layoffs as part of broader job cuts at Amazon. It has also been beset with regulatory setbacks and has struggled to meet delivery goals. In August, the unit lost two executives key to its operations, CNBC previously reported.

David Carbon, Amazon’s drone delivery head and a former Boeing executive, previously set an internal target to make 10,000 deliveries in 2023 between its two test sites.

Amazon said in October that its drones have “safely delivered hundreds of household items” in College Station, Texas, since December 2022, and it’s beginning medication delivery by drone in the area. The announcement didn’t say how many deliveries have been made in Lockeford, California, the company’s other test site.

In late October, Amazon cleared a significant regulatory hurdle when the FAA amended restrictions that dictated where and how its drones could fly. Cassidy wrote to the FAA in July asking that the agency allow Amazon to fly drones out of sight of a “visual observer,” or an employee who keeps an eye on the drone while it’s in flight to make sure it avoids hazards, according to government filings. Cassidy said Prime Air had spent years developing a “detect-and-avoid” system for its MK27-2 drone, which allows the vehicle to steer clear of aircraft, people and pets, as well as static objects such as chimneys, eliminating the need for visual observers.

On Oct. 23, the FAA granted Amazon’s request and loosened restrictions on where its drones can operate, permitting it to fly over roadways and cars when necessary to complete a route. Some restrictions remain intact, such as rules prohibiting drones from flying over open-air assemblies of people, and schools during times of operation.

It hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing entirely since then. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a Nov. 10 crash at Amazon’s drone test site in Pendleton, Oregon, according to a federal crash report viewed by CNBC. The drone sustained “substantial” damage during the incident, but no one was injured, and there were no fires or explosions at the site.

The NTSB said it’s conducting a class 4 investigation into the incident, which it considers to be more limited in scope versus other probes.

It comes after a separate incident at the Pendleton site in June, where a drone made an emergency landing in a field and was destroyed. Amazon said at the time it tests its drone systems “up to their limits and beyond,” and that it reported the incident to regulators.

WATCH: Amazon drones lagging far behind Alphabet’s Wing and Walmart partner Zipline

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Trump aims to cut $6 billion from NASA budget, shifting $1 billion to Mars-focused missions

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Trump aims to cut  billion from NASA budget, shifting  billion to Mars-focused missions

The Trump administration has floated a plan to trim about $6 billion from the budget of NASA, while allocating $1 billion of remaining funds to Mars-focused initiatives, aligning with an ambition long held by Elon Musk and his rocket maker SpaceX.

A copy of the discretionary budget posted to the NASA website on Friday said that the change focuses NASA’s funding on “beating China back to the Moon and on putting the first human on Mars.”

NASA also said it will need to “streamline” its workforce, information technology services, NASA Center operations, facility maintenance, and construction and environmental compliance activities, and terminate multiple “unaffordable” missions, while reducing scientific missions for the sake of “fiscal responsibility.”

Janet Petro, NASA’s acting administrator, said in an agency-wide email on Friday that the proposed lean budget, which would cut about 25% of the space agency’s funding, “reflects the administration’s support for our mission and sets the stage for our next great achievements.”

Petro urged NASA employees to “persevere, stay resilient, and lean into the discipline it takes to do things that have never been done before — especially in a constrained environment,” according to the memo, which was obtained by CNBC. She acknowledged the budget would “require tough choices,” and that some of NASA’s “activities will wind down.”

The document on NASA’s website said it’s allocating more than $7 billion for moon exploration and “introducing $1 billion in new investments for Mars-focused programs.”

SpaceX, which is already among the largest NASA and Department of Defense contractors, has long sought to launch a manned mission to Mars. The company says on its website that its massive Starship rocket is designed to “carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.”

Musk, who is the founder and CEO of SpaceX, has a central role in President Donald Trump’s administration, leading an effort to slash the size, spending and capacity of the federal government, and influencing regulatory changes through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Musk, who frequently makes aggressive and incorrect projections for his companies, said in 2020 that he was “highly confident” that SpaceX would land humans on Mars by 2026.

Petro highlighted in her memo that under the discretionary budget, NASA would retire the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, the Orion spacecraft and Gateway programs.

It would also put an end to its green aviation spending and to its Mars Sample Return (MSR) Program, which sought to use rockets and robotic systems to “collect and send samples of Martian rocks, soils and atmosphere back to Earth for detailed chemical and physical analysis,” according to a website for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Some of the biggest reductions at NASA, should the budget get approved, would hit the space agency’s space science, Earth science and mission support divisions.

Petro didn’t name any specific aerospace and defense contractors in her agency-wide email. However SpaceX, ULA and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin are positioned to continue to conduct launches in the absence of the SLS. Boeing is currently the prime contractor leading the SLS program.

“This is far from the first time NASA has been asked to adapt, and your ability to deliver, even under pressure, is what sets NASA apart,” she wrote.

President Trump’s nominee to lead NASA, tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, still has to be approved by the U.S. Senate. His nomination was advanced out of the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday.

WATCH: CNBC’s interview with NASA’s astronauts on their nine months in space

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Temu halts shipping direct from China as de minimis tariff loophole is cut off

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Temu halts shipping direct from China as de minimis tariff loophole is cut off

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Chinese bargain retailer Temu changed its business model in the U.S. as the Trump administration’s new rules on low-value shipments took effect Friday.

In recent days, Temu has abruptly shifted its website and app to only display listings for products shipped from U.S.-based warehouses. Items shipped directly from China, which previously blanketed the site, are now labeled as out of stock.

Temu made a name for itself in the U.S. as a destination for ultra-discounted items shipped direct from China, such as $5 sneakers and $1.50 garlic presses. It’s been able to keep prices low because of the so-called de minimis rule, which has allowed items worth $800 or less to enter the country duty-free since 2016.

The loophole expired Friday at 12:01 a.m. EDT as a result of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in April. Trump briefly suspended the de minimis rule in February before reinstating the provision days later as customs officials struggled to process and collect tariffs on a mountain of low-value packages.

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The end of de minimis, as well as Trump’s new 145% tariffs on China, has forced Temu to raise prices, suspend its aggressive online advertising push and now alter the selection of goods available to American shoppers to circumvent higher levies.

A Temu spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that all sales in the U.S. are now handled by local sellers and said they are fulfilled “from within the country.” Temu said pricing for U.S. shoppers “remains unchanged.”

“Temu has been actively recruiting U.S. sellers to join the platform,” the spokesperson said. “The move is designed to help local merchants reach more customers and grow their businesses.”

Before the change, shoppers who attempted to purchase Temu products shipped from China were confronted with “import charges” of between 130% and 150%. The fees often cost more than the individual item and more than doubled the price of many orders.

Temu advertises that local products have “no import charges” and “no extra charges upon delivery.”

The company, which is owned by Chinese e-commerce giant PDD Holdings, has gradually built up its inventory in the U.S. over the past year in anticipation of escalating trade tensions and the removal of de minimis.

Shein, which has also benefited from the loophole, moved to raise prices last week. The fast-fashion retailer added a banner at checkout that says, “Tariffs are included in the price you pay. You’ll never have to pay extra at delivery.”

Many third-party sellers on Amazon rely on Chinese manufacturers to source or assemble their products. The company’s Temu competitor, called Amazon Haul, has relied on de minimis to ship products priced at $20 or less directly from China to the U.S.

Amazon said Tuesday following a dustup with the White House that had it considered showing tariff-related costs on Haul products ahead of the de minimis cutoff but that it has since scrapped those plans.

Prior to Trump’s second term in office, the Biden administration had also looked to curtail the provision. Critics of the de minimis provision argue that it harms American businesses and that it facilitates shipments of fentanyl and other illicit substances because, they say, the packages are less likely to be inspected by customs agents.

— CNBC’s Gabrielle Fonrouge contributed to this report.

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Jeff Bezos discloses plan to sell up to $4.8 billion in Amazon stock

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Jeff Bezos discloses plan to sell up to .8 billion in Amazon stock

Jeff Bezos, founder and executive chairman of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post, takes the stage during The New York Times’ annual DealBook Summit, at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, Dec. 4, 2024.

Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos plans to sell up to 25 million shares in the company over the next year, according to a financial filing on Friday.

Bezos, who stepped down as CEO in 2021 but remains Amazon’s top shareholder, is selling the shares as part of a trading plan adopted on March 4, the filing states. The stake would be worth about $4.8 billion at the current price.

The disclosure follows Amazon’s first-quarter earnings report late Thursday. While profit and revenue topped estimates, the company’s forecast for operating income in the current quarter came in below Wall Street’s expectations.

The results show that Amazon is bracing for uncertainty related to President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs. The company landed in the crosshairs of the White House this week over a report that Amazon planned to show shoppers the cost of the tariffs. Trump personally called Bezos to complain, and Amazon clarified that no such change was coming.

Bezos previously offloaded about $13.5 billion worth of Amazon shares last year, marking his first sale of company stock since 2021.

Since handing over the Amazon CEO role to Andy Jassy, Bezos has spent more of his time on his space exploration company, Blue Origin, and his $10 billion climate and biodiversity fund. He’s used Amazon share sales to help fund Blue Origin, as well as the Day One Fund, which he launched in September 2018 to provide education in low-income communities and combat homelessness.

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