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Amazon reports record profits; cuts 30,000 more jobs.

Photo above - Amazon headquarters in Seattle. Some of the newly dismissed 30,000 office workers want to [i]know if they can live in the dome, until they find new jobs . . .[/i]

Amazon HQ - “Sorry dude – you’re fired.”

Worker - “But you just reported $20 billion in record profits. Double the prior year.”

Amazon HQ - “We’re spending $100 billion in an AI war with Google. Consider yourself a battlefield casualty . . .”

That’s the gist of the 2 links below. The only things certain in life are death, taxes, and CEOs’ ravenous appetite for more yachts.

I’m sure there’s some way these Amazon 30,000 job cuts can be blamed on tariffs. But I'm just not clever enough to dream it up off the top of my head. Those with an intense political slant will have to undertake this for me. Amazon says this is all about AI, and who am I to contradict them?

This week’s 30,000 additional firings are NOT warehouse “pickers”. A bunch of them were told last week that a robot army was at the gates. Today’s lucky losers are cube dwellers. Amazon claims they are “human resources workers” (who review job applications, and approve sick leave requests). I can fully believe that AI is going to replace all HR employees everywhere in the future. But I can’t believe 10% of Amazon’s workforce as of Monday was HR workers. That seems like a made-up number.

Do I need to point out – yet again – that 30,000 people hitting the bricks puts a big dent in federal income tax receipts, social security trust fund replenishment, and sends most of those people straight to the unemployment line, worsening state and local budgets?

At least this time they probably wised up and won’t be trekking to California in a rented U-Haul, only to find there's no work, no lodging, and end up pitching a tent on some sidewalk. Cube dwellers usually aren’t well adapted to life on the street.

Maybe they should head to New Jersey, where the government just announced 10,000 free 2-bedroom apartments? The state’s timing couldn’t be better.

I’m just sayin’ . . .

Amazon’s profit is suddenly going through the roof, fueling CEO Andy Jassy’s $100 billion AI spending spree to fight Google and Microsoft

Amazon to cut 30K corporate jobs Tuesday: reports

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Avectoijesuismoi · 36-40

Maybe when the robots take over the picking they will dispatch the correct items in the correct colour and size as well.
The lady nextdoor to Mr here in LA spent most of Friday last week sorting out the stuff she had ordered for her children from Amazon because in some cases she got very large men's shirts instead of the shirts for her little boy. In some cases she got stuff she hadn't even ordered etc etc

senghenydd · M

Oh this is dreadful news a company making huge profits even better than the previous year and yet cutting 30,000 jobs, what sort of company are they, the people who helped them establish their company now are shown the door.

I'm not interested why they are doing this, they have obligations especially as their profits are going through the roof.

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senghenydd · M

@SusanInFlorida I don't know Redundancy payments are based on how many years an Employee has worked for a company say for instance twenty years, then the redundant employee would receive twenty weeks pay as a redundancy payment it's based the amount of years worked, maybe it's the same in the US.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@senghenydd almost all fired employees in the USA get at least 2 weeks pay. even if fired "for cause" (theft, sexual harassment, etc).

I've heard of some places that give 1 week per year of service, but that only happens if they're not being instantly dissolved due to bankruptcy proceedings.

senghenydd · M

@SusanInFlorida Oh that's terrible where are the Unions in your country, redundancy payments help you whilst your looking for a new job, I suppose there's State benefit the government provides in your case.

Crazywaterspring · 61-69, M

Those laid off office people can always deliver packages. The post office is hiring seasonal help, and since they're self funding, that Washington stunt doesn't affect postal employees.

Seriously, these big companies usually do big layoffs just before the New Year. Executives want their bigger jets, mansions and private islands.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@Crazywaterspring people who work in cubes do so for a reason. they may have poor driving records, lack a commercial license, or be unable to lift a 40 pound package (all part of the hiring process)

sylvsn59 · 61-69, M

Correction on the free apartments in NJ. It is a national pilot program proposal for guaranteed income.
https://www.insidernj.com/press-release/watson-coleman-leads-introduction-of-guaranteed-income-pilot-program/

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@sylvsn59 isn't this legislator a New Jersey state official, and not a house of representatives member? how can she propose national legislation? or is this even more of a farce than it appeared at first?

sylvsn59 · 61-69, M

@SusanInFlorida US Rep

exchrist · 36-40

Wow Amazon needs to see consequences for this bs. A Flat income tax is a best practice worldwide.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@exchrist flat income tax has been proposed since the presidential candidacy of malcom forbes, over 20 years ago.

nobody can agree on the income level, and rate. no politicians, that is.

flat income taxes would presumably axe deductions for:

1 - vacation homes
2 - $100,000 lifted ford F150s, masquerading as business transportation for small business owners
3 - electric cars
4 - rooftop solar panels
5 - leisure travel on corporate jets
6 - deductibility of state income taxes, municipal income taxes, real estate taxes, sales tax . . .

exchrist · 36-40

@SusanInFlorida other than maybe #4 because of renewable energy’s potential to reduce pollution, increase independence from foreign energy imports and reduced electric costs for everyone. There are benefits but within limits. the only, if any deductions should be for charitable or community contributions and maybe employment taxes or insurance contributions. Regardless a flat tax is a global standard other than in the US.

Glossy · F

But is it morally right to force humans to do a job that machines can do better, just for the sake of earning money?

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FreddieUK · 70-79, M

@Glossy Work is good for you. Some work can be done more efficiently by machines, but that could rob some people of the dignity of working, so to that extent it's immoral just for some to have even more wealth at the expense of another's poverty. Some jobs are tedious and soul-destroying and to relieve people of those jobs is morally good BUT they need further opportunities to use their only capital (their labour) to earn.

Glossy · F

@FreddieUK I agree with you. In the 1970s, many “experts” predicted massive job losses from the onset of employers replacing employees by using computers that were starting to appear in every business. Then in the 1980s, “microcomputers” appeared and made it even worse.

Except it didn’t happen. The worldwide spread of computer usage generated far more jobs than they took over. Now we are going through it all again with AI,

FreddieUK · 70-79, M

@Glossy I hope that will be true of AI, but you're absolutely right. Predictions of a life of complete leisure which were around when I was a boy didn't come true and neither did some of the worst of the predictions of unemployment. However remember that's in the 80s the Thatcher government had to pay a fortune in what long-term sick pay to redundant miners in order to keep the unemployment numbers down after the severe reduction of the coal industry.

Teslin · M

Ahhh yes, the rich get richer in more ways than 1. Who cares about the little guy.

senghenydd · M

@Teslin Amazon don't for sure.

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