Amazon news and archive

Amazon shares surge as earnings beat expectations

Shares in Amazon leapt on Thursday after the online retail colossus reported it made a lot more money than expected in the first quarter of 2023. Amazon reported a profit of $3.2 billion on sales that climbed 9 percent to $127.4 billion in the quarter. The net income was about a billion dollars more than analysts had forecast, and Amazon shares...

Business

UK targets big tech to boost online consumer rights

Global tech giants could face fines of up to 10 percent of their annual turnover if a British government bill to protect consumers launched on Tuesday becomes law. The bill aims to strengthen competition in digital markets and crack down on subscription traps as well as prevent online scams such as fake reviews. It envisages giving the...

Business

Amazon CEO outlines AI investment plans

In a letter to its shareholders, Amazon’s CEO and president Andy Jassy has spoken on the marketplace’s past year, with a look into the changes it has made in order to face the turbulent headwinds of the current market. Jassy outlined areas in which the company has made structural shifts in order to reach long-term potential and drive enough...

Business

Amazon highlights ambitions on counterfeit prevention in latest report

Online retailer Amazon published its third annual Brand Protection Report last week, revealing the highest number of criminal referrals and industry partnerships than ever before, which are linked to the company’s efforts to protect customers, brands and selling partners from counterfeit products. The report highlights four main areas: robust...

Business

Amazon to cut 9,000 more jobs, CEO confirms

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said Monday he was cutting 9,000 more jobs from the online retail giant's workforce, following the 18,000 that were axed in January. "Given the uncertain economy... and the uncertainty that exists in the near future, we have chosen to be more streamlined in our costs and headcount," Jassy said in a memo to staff. The...

Business

'It's hard to survive', say striking UK Amazon workers

"Amazon won't give you anything if you don't fight for it," a union organiser shouted through a bullhorn as dozens of disgruntled workers staged a strike outside the US tech warehouse in Coventry, central England. "We're asking for a raise. One of my children has eczema, I told him to take a bath every other day, I can't pay for the hot water,"...

Business

Amazon CEO confirms back-to-office plans

Three years on from the beginning of the pandemic and many companies are still attempting to strike a balance between at-home and in-office working formats that has seen many become reliant on a hybrid model. However, for Amazon, it appears such a layout may not be apparent for much longer. A blog update from the marketplace giant’s CEO Andy...

Retail

Amazon's Zoox robotaxis take to California roads

The Amazon subsidiary Zoox on Monday said its self-driving vehicles with no manual controls took to California public roads over the weekend, calling it a major breakthrough for the robotaxi industry. Use of the boxy electric vehicles is to be limited to full time employees who will be able to use the service only to travel the short distance...

Fashion

Amazon broke law in anti-union campaign, judge rules

A US administrative judge has ruled that Amazon broke labor laws by threatening to withhold wage and benefits increases from employees at two New York warehouses if they voted to unionize. The judge, in his decision dated Monday, found that company officials had illegally suggested that unionized employees would have their pay frozen during...

Business

UK Amazon workers strike amid cost-of-living crisis

Online retail giant Amazon was Wednesday facing its first strike by UK workers, who are protesting over a pay rise deemed unacceptable in a cost-of-living crisis. A few hundred workers at a warehouse in Coventry, central England, have walked out over a pay increase worth five percent, less than half the current UK inflation rate. It comes as...

Business

Rent the Runway partners with Amazon Fashion on pre-loved offer

Rent the Runway has announced a new partnership with Amazon Fashion which sees it launch a storefront on the marketplace’s website to sell a selection of its pre-loved and Design Collective apparel. Among the rental brand’s pre-loved merchandise will be hundreds of styles from over 35 brands, spanning casual wear, workwear, eveningwear and...

Business

US labor board upholds landmark Amazon union vote

Amazon's objections to a landmark unionization vote by workers in one of the retail giant's US warehouses have been thrown out, the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled Wednesday. The federal agency tossed out the arguments put forth by Amazon against the 2022 vote at its warehouse in Staten Island, New York, and said in a statement...