Amazon Deepens Tech-sector Gloom with Another 9,000 Layoffs

The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Boves, France, November 5, 2019. (Reuters)
The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Boves, France, November 5, 2019. (Reuters)
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Amazon Deepens Tech-sector Gloom with Another 9,000 Layoffs

The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Boves, France, November 5, 2019. (Reuters)
The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Boves, France, November 5, 2019. (Reuters)

Amazon.com Inc on Monday said it would axe another 9,000 roles, piling on to a wave of layoffs that has swept the technology sector as an uncertain economy forces companies to get leaner.

In a remarkable turn for a company that has long touted its job creation, Amazon will have eliminated 27,000 positions in recent months, or 9% of its roughly 300,000-strong corporate workforce.

The latest cuts focus on Amazon's highly-profitable cloud and advertising divisions, once seen as untouchable until economic concerns led business customers to scrutinize their spending.

The layoffs will affect Amazon's streaming unit Twitch as well. Dan Clancy, who was named as CEO of Twitch last week, said the platform will lay off more than 400 employees.

Amazon aims to finalize whom it will terminate in the new round of job cuts by April.

The company's stock fell 1.8%.

The decision follows a near-endless drumbeat of layoff news in the technology sector that has seen some of the world's most valuable corporations, among them Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc, sever ties with staggering numbers of employees they once courted in droves.

"I don't think this means much for other companies, except that all will be more careful before allowing their headcount to balloon in the future," Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said.

In what now seems a harbinger, Facebook's parent Meta Platforms Inc said last week it would cut 10,000 jobs this year, kicking off a second round of layoffs for the sector following its elimination of more than 11,000 roles in 2022.

In a note to staff that Amazon posted online, its CEO Andy Jassy said the decision stemmed from an ongoing analysis of priorities and uncertainty about the economy.

"Some may ask why we didn't announce these role reductions with the ones we announced a couple months ago," he wrote. "The short answer is that not all of the teams were done with their analyses in the late fall."

"Given the uncertain economy in which we reside, and the uncertainty that exists in the near future, we have chosen to be more streamlined in our costs and headcount."

Amazon last month said operating profit may continue to slump in the current quarter, hit by the financial impact of consumers and cloud customers clamping down on spending.

The Athena Coalition, a labor and activist group that is critical of Amazon, said in a statement: "None of these layoffs have to happen. Jassy is choosing to make them happen to pad Amazon's bottom line."

The company has scaled back or shut down entire services like its virtual primary care offering for employers in recent months.



China’s Premier Li Proposes Global AI Cooperation Organization

Chinese Premier Li Qiang is seen on a screen as he speaks at the opening ceremony of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 26, 2025. (AFP)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang is seen on a screen as he speaks at the opening ceremony of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 26, 2025. (AFP)
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China’s Premier Li Proposes Global AI Cooperation Organization

Chinese Premier Li Qiang is seen on a screen as he speaks at the opening ceremony of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 26, 2025. (AFP)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang is seen on a screen as he speaks at the opening ceremony of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 26, 2025. (AFP)

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Saturday proposed establishing an organization to foster global cooperation on artificial intelligence, calling on countries to coordinate on the development and security of the fast-evolving technology.

Speaking at the opening of the annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, Li called AI a new engine for growth but said governance is fragmented and emphasizing the need for more coordination between countries to form a globally recognized framework for AI.

The three-day event brings together industry leaders and policymakers at a time of escalating technological competition between China and the United States - the world's two largest economies - with AI emerging as a key battleground.

"Overall global AI governance is still fragmented. Countries have great differences particularly in terms of areas such as regulatory concepts, institutional rules," Li said. "We should strengthen coordination to form a global AI governance framework that has broad consensus as soon as possible."

Washington has imposed export restrictions on advanced technology to China, including the most high-end AI chips made by companies such as Nvidia and chipmaking equipment, citing concerns that the technology could enhance China's military capabilities.

Despite these restrictions, China has continued making AI breakthroughs that have drawn close scrutiny from US officials.

Li did not name the United States in his speech but he warned that AI could become an "exclusive game" for a few countries and companies, adding that challenges included an insufficient supply of AI chips and restrictions on talent exchange.

GOVERNANCE PLAN

China wants to share its development experience and products with other countries, especially those in the Global South, Li said.

Also on Saturday, China released an action plan for global AI governance, in which it invited governments, international organizations, enterprises and research institutions to work together and promote international exchanges including through a cross-border open-source community.

The plan proposes accelerating digital infrastructure such as clean power, new-generation networks and data centers, according to a statement from China's foreign ministry.

The AI conference is an annual government-sponsored event in Shanghai that typically attracts major industry players, government officials, researchers and investors.

Saturday's speakers included Anne Bouverot, the French president's special envoy for AI, computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton, known as "the Godfather of AI", and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has in past years regularly appeared at the opening ceremony in person or by video, did not speak this year.

Besides forums, the conference features exhibitions where companies demonstrate their latest innovations.

This year, more than 800 companies are participating, showcasing more than 3,000 high-tech products, 40 large language models, 50 AI-powered devices and 60 intelligent robots, according to organizers.

The exhibition features predominantly Chinese companies, including tech giants Huawei and Alibaba and startups such as humanoid robot maker Unitree. Western participants include Tesla, Alphabet and Amazon.