Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has some advice for Americans fearing the U.S. economy might further contract or enter into a full recession in 2023: "Take risk off the table."
In a recent interview with CNN Business, Bezos encouraged consumers to hold off on plans of purchasing big-ticket items, such as televisions and cars.
"The economy does not look great right now. Things are slowing down. You are seeing layoffs in many, many sectors of the economy," said Bezos.
The billionaire's suggestion comes at an odd time, since Amazon — like most national retailers — relies on the Christmas/holiday season for mass consumer spending.
Televisions are one of the hottest-selling items on Amazon.
And Amazon is getting ready to eliminate roughly 10,000 employees from its workforce.
The U.S. economy contracted for back-to-back quarters earlier this year, which meets the technical definition of a "recession."
In a potential response to the negative gross domestric product growth, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to combat high inflation, which reached a four-decade high over the summer (9.1%).
The Fed also increased borrowing costs for families and businesses, even though this type of strategy could lead to higher levels of inflation.
Last month, Newsmax chronicled a similar recession warning from Bezos.
At the time, Bezos tweeted a clip of Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon telling CNBC there's a "good chance we could have a recession."
Bezos responded with, "Yep, the probabilities in this economy tell you to batten down the hatches."
Commerce Department data provided to The Daily Mail show that personal savings balances among Americans have "plunged" since the COVID-19 pandemic first wreaked havoc in March 2020.
Also, the personal savings rate for September dropped to 3.1% — well off the numbers from 2019.
On Wednesday, The New York Times reported that Amazon began notifying employees of layoffs in its devices and services departments.
Bezos' CNN interview also coincided with his announcement that a good portion of his $124 billion fortune would be earmarked for charities fighting climate change.
"The hard part is figuring out how to do it in a levered way," said Bezos. "It's not easy; building Amazon was not easy."
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