As the global economy faces a potential recession, consumers would be wise to postpone large purchases in the coming months, Amazon Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos said in a sit-down interview with CNN, which aired Saturday.
After urging his Twitter followers to “batten down the hatches” last month, this is Bezos’ starkest warning yet about the economy—even as it could mean lower sales for Amazon.
“Take some risk off the table,” Bezos said. “Just a little bit of risk reduction could make the difference.”
Bezos said the same prudence should apply to business capital expenditures.
Major Layoff of 10,000
The New York Times reported Monday that Amazon plans to lay off about 10,000 people in corporate and technology jobs starting as soon as this week. That is on top of the corporate hiring freeze Amazon announced earlier this month.
The job cuts will focus on the e-commerce giant's devices unit, which houses voice-assistant Alexa, as well as its retail division and human resources, according to the report, which also said the total number of layoffs remains fluid.
As of Dec. 31 last year, Amazon had more than 1.6 million full-time and part-time employees.
The news comes just weeks after Amazon warned of a slowdown in growth for the busy holiday season when it generates the highest sales, saying consumers and businesses had less money to spend due to rising prices.
The retail giant—the second biggest employer in the U.S. after Walmart—said sales for the final quarter of the year will be significantly below Wall Street expectations.
Amazon (AMZN) stock has fallen more than 40% as a result of inflation and changing consumer spending, which are also dampening the broader technology sector.
Despite his latest recession warning, Bezos stressed that the American Dream “is and will be even more attainable in the future.”
$124 Billion Pledge
In a separate interview with CNN Monday, Bezos said he will give away a majority of his $124 billion wealth during his lifetime.
Without providing further details, Bezos said he and partner journalist-turned-philanthropist Lauren Sánchez were "building the capacity to be able to give away this money."
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