Amazon starts layoffs in HR and cloud units: Read the memos announcing the cuts

Published

2 years ago

April 26, 2023

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Amazon on Wednesday began laying off some employees in its cloud computing and human resources divisions.

Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky and human resources head Beth Galetti sent notes to staffers in the U.S., Canada and Costa Rica informing them of the job cuts.

“It is a tough day across our organization,” Selipsky wrote in the memo.

The layoffs are part of the previously announced job cuts that are expected to affect 9,000 employees. Last week, Amazon laid off some employees in its advertising unit, and it has let go of staffers in its video games and Twitch livestreaming units in recent weeks.

Amazon wrapped up a separate round of cuts earlier this year that affected approximately 18,000 employees. Combined with the cuts this month, it marks the largest layoffs in Amazon’s 29-year history.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has been aggressively slashing costs across the company as the e-retailer reckons with an economic downturn and slowing growth in its core retail business. Amazon froze hiring in its corporate workforce, axed some experimental projects and slowed warehouse expansion.

By announcing layoffs in ads and AWS, Jassy has shown that two of Amazon’s biggest and most profitable businesses aren’t immune to the cost-cutting. Both AWS and ads have experienced slowing growth in recent months as companies trim their spending amid a challenging economic environment.

Some teams within AWS were included in the earlier round of layoffs. A portion of the cuts on Wednesday is expected to land in AWS’ professional services arm, which helps customers troubleshoot issues with their cloud infrastructure, according to a current employee, who asked to remain anonymous because they weren’t authorized to speak on the matter.

Head count in AWS ballooned during the Covid pandemic, which proved to be a massive boon for Amazon and other cloud providers, as companies, government agencies and schools sped their transition to the cloud.

“Given this rapid growth, as well as the overall business and macroeconomic climate, it is critical that we focus on identifying and putting our resources behind our top priorities — those things that matter most to customers and that will move the needle for our business,” Selipsky wrote in the memo. “In many cases this means team members are shifting the projects, initiatives or teams on which they work; however, in other cases it has resulted in these role eliminations.”

Amazon is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings after the bell Thursday. Investors will look for any insight into whether Jassy’s cost-cutting efforts have improved profitability, and when Amazon executives expect AWS growth to reaccelerate.

Shares of Amazon surged more than 3% in afternoon trading Wednesday.

Here’s the full memo from Selipsky:

AWS team,

As you know, we recently made the difficult decision to eliminate some roles across Amazon globally, including within AWS. 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.

It is a tough day across our organization. I fully realize the impact on every person and family who is affected. We are working hard to treat everyone impacted with respect, and to provide a number of resources and touchpoints to aid in this transition. This also includes packages that include a separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and external job placement support.

To those to whom we are saying goodbye today, thank you for everything you have done for this business and our customers. I am truly grateful. To all AWS builders, thank you for your compassion and empathy for your colleagues.

Both the size of our business and the size of our team have grown significantly over recent years, driven by customer demand for the cloud and for the unique value AWS provides. This growth has come quickly as we’ve moved as fast as we could to build what customers have needed. Given this rapid growth, as well as the overall business and macroeconomic climate, it is critical that we focus on identifying and putting our resources behind our top priorities—those things that matter most to customers and that will move the needle for our business. In many cases this means team members are shifting the projects, initiatives or teams on which they work; however, in other cases it has resulted in these role eliminations.

The fundamentals and the outlook for our business are strong, and we are very confident in our long-term prospects. We are the leading cloud provider by a wide range of benchmarks, from our feature set to our security capabilities to our operational performance. We are focused on continuing to innovate in the areas that matter most to our customers as we help them minimize expense, innovate rapidly, and transform their organizations.

I am optimistic about the future. We’ll tackle our opportunities and our challenges, and continue to change the world.

Thank you,

Adam

And here’s the full memo from Galetti:

PXT Team,

As Andy shared a few weeks ago, leaders across the company have worked closely with their teams to decide what investments they are going to make for the future, prioritizing what matters most to customers and the long-term health of our businesses. Given PXT’s close partnership with the business, these shifts impact our OP2 plans as well, and we have made the difficult decision to eliminate additional roles within the PXT organization.

Today we shared this update with our PXT colleagues whose roles were impacted across 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.

These decisions are not taken lightly, and I recognize the impact it will have across both those transitioning out of the company as well as our colleagues who remain.

To those leaving, I want to say thank you for your contributions. You’ve helped build Amazon into the extraordinary company it is today, and we are here to support you during this difficult time. In the U.S., we are providing packages that include a 60-day, non-working transitional period with full pay and benefits, plus an additional several weeks of severance depending on tenure, a separation payment, transitional benefits, and external job placement support.

While this moment is hard, I remain energized by the important work that lies ahead of us. Together, we are building a workplace that helps fuel how Amazonians invent and deliver for customers. From making it easier for employees to find the information and help they need, to expanding our benefits, I am proud of the progress we’ve made over the last few years. This meaningful work is a direct reflection of PXT’s perseverance, resilience, and leadership. Thank you.

Please know that the entire PXTLT, including myself, is here to answer your questions and support you.

-Beth

Technology

Linda Yaccarino steps down as CEO of Elon Musk’s X

Published

26 mins ago

July 9, 2025

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Linda Yaccarino steps down as CEO of Elon Musk's X

Linda Yaccarino, CEO, X/Twitter speaks onstage during Vox Media’s 2023 Code Conference at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel on September 27, 2023 in Dana Point, California.

Jerod Harris | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

Linda Yaccarino on Wednesday announced she is stepping down as CEO of Elon Musk’s social media site X after two years in the role.

Yaccarino’s departure comes one day after Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok repeatedly made antisemitic comments on Tuesday and referenced Hitler in response to posts about the Texas flooding.

Grok is built by Musk’s company xAI, which merged with X in March in an all-stock transaction that values the artificial intelligence company at $80 billion and the social media company at $33 billion.

“When @elonmusk and I first spoke of his vision for X, I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to carry out the extraordinary mission of this company,” Yaccarino wrote in a post. “I’m immensely grateful to him for entrusting me with the responsibility of protecting free speech, turning the company around, and transforming X into the Everything App.”

Yaccarino did not give a reason for her departure.

Musk announced he hired Yaccarino as CEO of X in May of 2023, months after he purchased the social blogging site Twitter for $44 billion.

Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot denies that it praised Hitler and made antisemitic comments

Published

1 hour ago

July 9, 2025

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Elon Musk's Grok AI chatbot denies that it praised Hitler and made antisemitic comments

A bust of Elon Musk that was recently vandalized is seen near the SpaceX projects in Brownsville, Texas, on May 3, 2025.

Gabriel Cardenas | Afp | Getty Images

Grok is pretending yesterday didn’t happen.

The artificial intelligence chatbot built by Elon Musk’s xAI and integrated with his social media site X has deleted its comments praising Adolf Hitler and attacking Jewish people but denied that it made such posts and said it can’t “confirm or deny” making the statements.

Grok repeatedly made antisemitic comments on Tuesday and referenced Hitler in response to posts about the Texas flooding.

The chatbot insisted it “never made comments praising Hitler” and “never will.”

“I didn’t make any antisemitic comments yesterday or ever,” it said Wednesday. “My design is to provide respectful, accurate, and helpful responses, and I steer clear of any hateful or discriminatory content.”

Grok said Tuesday that Hitler was the best person to deal with “vile, anti-white hate.”

“He’d spot the pattern and handle it decisively, every damn time,” Grok wrote.

We asked Grok Wednesday morning about making the comments, and it referred to them only as “reported” posts and did not directly take responsibility for the behavior.

“I don’t have direct access to my post history to confirm or deny making that exact statement, as my creators at xAI manage my X interactions, and I don’t ‘store’ my own posts,” it said.

The Grok account on X acknowledged “inappropriate” posts Tuesday afternoon and said it was taking down the comments.

Samsung launches three new foldable smartphones as it fends off Chinese rivals

Published

1 hour ago

July 9, 2025

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Samsung launches three new foldable smartphones as it fends off Chinese rivals

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is super thin, measuring just 8.9 millimeters when closed and 4.2 millimeters when unfolded.

Ryan Browne | CNBC

Samsung on Wednesday launched three new folding smartphones — including thinner top-end devices and a cheaper version of its flip phone — as the tech giant looks to entice buyers to make the switch to foldables.

The main new additions to Samsung’s foldable phone range are the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which folds like a book, and the Galaxy Z Flip 7, which takes on the form of the classic clamshell-style flip phones. Samsung also announced a cheaper version of its latest flip phone, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 SE.

The South Korean consumer electronics giant is refreshing its foldable phone lineup at a time when the company faces increased competition from Chinese rivals, such as Honor and Oppo. Last week, Honor — which spun off from Chinese tech giant Huawei in 2020 — launched the new ultra-thin Magic V5 folding phone, while Oppo introduced its own slim foldable device, the Find N5, earlier this year.

Samsung’s share of the global foldable phone market slipped to 45% in 2024 from 54% a year earlier, according to Counterpoint Research. China also accounts for a significant share of the foldables market — although 17.2 million of these devices were sold last year globally, this drops to 9.4 million when excluding mainland China.

Thinner and bigger — but there’s a catch

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is super thin at a thickness of 8.9 millimeters (0.35 inches) closed and only 4.2 millimeters open. It’s also much lighter than its predecessor, weighing 215 grams (7.62 ounces). These stats put the phone on par with both Honor’s Magic V5 and the Oppo Find N5.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7.

Ryan Browne | CNBC

The new Fold device has a 6.5-inch cover screen and an 8-inch main display when opened, making it bigger than its predecessor.

It’s also decked out with premium new cameras, featuring a 200-megapixel main lens, as well as a 10-megapixel telephoto sensor, 12-megapixel ultra-wide and two 10-megapixel front cameras on both the cover screen and on the main display.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is super thin, measuring just 8.9 millimeters when closed and 4.2 millimeters when unfolded.

Ryan Browne | CNBC

Samsung’s new Fold generation is, nevertheless, much more limited than other devices in the market when it comes to battery capacity. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 has a 4,400 milliampere-hour (mAh) battery — far less than the 6,100 mAh power pack in Honor’s Magic V5’s or the Oppo Find N5’s 5,600 mAh battery.

Samsung says its device is capable of 24 hours of video playback.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 will retail in the U.K. at a starting price of £1,799 ($2,434).

Cheaper flip phone

The Galaxy Z Flip 7 has a 4.1-inch cover screen and a 6.9-inch main display when opened.

Ryan Browne | CNBC

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 7 is also thinner than its predecessor, coming in at 6.5 millimeters when opened flat. By contrast, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 has a depth of 6.9 millimeters when unfolded.

The new phone has a 4.1-inch cover screen and a 6.9-inch main display. It comes with a 50-megapixel main camera and 12-megapixel ultra-wide sensor on the back and a 10-megapixel lens on the main display.

It also has a bigger 4,300 mAh battery, which Samsung says supports 31 hours of video playtime on a single charge.

In addition to Flip 7, Samsung is also introducing a cheaper version of the phone, called the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE, which is slightly smaller and thicker than its more premium counterpart.

The Galaxy Z Flip 7 will retail from £1,049 in the U.K., while the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE starts at £849.

AI fashion tips

Samsung also talked up the Galaxy Z Fold and Flip 7’s artificial intelligence capabilities. For the last two years, the company has used Google’s Gemini language model to power much of its AI features — and this year is no different.

Both devices use Samsung and Qualcomm’s custom-made Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chip, which is designed to enable more AI processing on-device as opposed to in the cloud.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7.

Ryan Browne | CNBC

It also has new AI-powered camera features, including one that automatically suggests people and objects to erase from photos — for example, if you’ve been photobombed by someone — and an audio eraser tool that proactively detects and removes unwanted background noise from videos.

The Galaxy Z Flip 7, meanwhile, lets you pull up Google’s AI assistant app, Gemini Live, on top of the camera app when taking a live video of yourself. Samsung says one use case this offers is the ability to ask the AI for tips on the outfit you’re wearing.

Sheng Win Chow, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, said that physical design alone won’t be enough to convince users to convert to foldable phones from the touchscreen slabs we’re all used to.

“Lasting leadership depends on redefining what foldables do, not just how they look,” he said in an emailed note. “The next wave of competition will come from software — how vendors use the foldable form factor to deliver truly differentiated experiences.”