Amazon to cut about 16,000 jobs in latest round of layoffs
Does Amazon owe you money? I’ve got news for you. Just because you have Prime doesn’t automatically mean you’re getting some of this settlement money, and here’s why. Hi there, my name is Ali Jacinski, and I took *** closer look at this class action settlement for Hearst Television’s National Consumer unit. So first, let me back up and explain how we got here. Amazon has started sending out automatic refunds to customers up to $51. Dollars as part of *** $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. So the FTC accused Amazon of using this phrase, dark patterns, and essentially those are design tricks that they say made it too easy to sign up for Prime, but then too difficult to turn around and cancel. And according to that lawsuit, Amazon even had *** name for its cancellation process. They called it the I. Ad, as in that long Greek epic poem you read in school, because its process was that tedious and you had to go through multiple pages and multiple click-throughs to try to cancel your subscription. Now, you could be eligible for an automatic refund if you signed up for Prime between June 23, 2019 and June 23, 2025, but this next part is really the key you have to understand. You have to have used no more than 3 Amazon Prime benefits over the course of *** year. So I asked the FTC to clearly explain what that means. Does that mean, hey, I use 2-day shipping, I shop Prime Day deals, and I also stream content on Prime Video. Those are 3 different benefits, but does it matter how many times I’ve used those benefits, the FTC said, Yeah, it does. What we’re saying is you can’t have used any of your prime benefits on more than 3 occurrences. So let’s say you use 2-day shipping 3 times when you otherwise wouldn’t have gotten 2-day shipping. Those are your 3 occurrences. That’s it. Anything more than that, no automatic refund for you. Now, there will be *** claims process. After those automatic refunds go out. And in this case, you can have used more than 3, but less than 10 of your Prime benefits over *** 12-month period. But really the bottom line here is that if you are someone who frequently uses Amazon Prime, you’re ordering packages and you’re maxing out those benefits, this refund really isn’t for you. What the FTC is trying to do here is get refunds into the pockets of consumers that they say signed up for Prime, didn’t realize they were signing up for *** subscription, and then were on the hook for those fees. Now, if you are one of these people, and the FTC estimates there are millions of you that could be eligible for this, if you don’t get an automatic refund and you need help filing *** claim, we’ve linked the process for how to do that on our website. So be sure to go check that out.
Amazon to cut about 16,000 jobs in latest round of layoffs
Amazon is cutting about 16,000 jobs in the latest round of mass layoffs for the tech industry.Beth Galetti, a senior vice president at the e-commerce company, made the announcement Wednesday in a blog post.The latest reductions follow a round of job cuts in October, when Amazon laid off 14,000 workers.She said U.S.-based staff would be given 90 days to look for a new role internally. Those who are unsuccessful or don’t want a new job will be offered severance pay, outplacement services and health insurance benefits, she said.“While we’re making these changes, we’ll also continue hiring and investing in strategic areas and functions that are critical to our future,” Galetti said.The layoffs are Amazon’s biggest since 2023, when the company cut 27,000 jobs.Amazon’s workforce doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic as millions stayed home and boosted online spending. But in the following years, big tech and retail companies cut thousands of jobs to bring spending back in line.Hiring has stagnated in the U.S. and in December, the country added a meager 50,000 jobs, nearly unchanged from a downwardly revised figure of 56,000 in November.Labor data points to a reluctance by businesses to add workers even as economic growth has picked up. Many companies hired aggressively after the pandemic and no longer need to fill more jobs. Others have held back due to widespread uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s shifting tariff policies, elevated inflation, and the spread of artificial intelligence, which could alter or even replace some jobs.
Amazon is cutting about 16,000 jobs in the latest round of mass layoffs for the tech industry.
Beth Galetti, a senior vice president at the e-commerce company, made the announcement Wednesday in a blog post.
The latest reductions follow a round of job cuts in October, when Amazon laid off 14,000 workers.
She said U.S.-based staff would be given 90 days to look for a new role internally. Those who are unsuccessful or don’t want a new job will be offered severance pay, outplacement services and health insurance benefits, she said.
“While we’re making these changes, we’ll also continue hiring and investing in strategic areas and functions that are critical to our future,” Galetti said.
The layoffs are Amazon’s biggest since 2023, when the company cut 27,000 jobs.
Amazon’s workforce doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic as millions stayed home and boosted online spending. But in the following years, big tech and retail companies cut thousands of jobs to bring spending back in line.
Hiring has stagnated in the U.S. and in December, the country added a meager 50,000 jobs, nearly unchanged from a downwardly revised figure of 56,000 in November.
Labor data points to a reluctance by businesses to add workers even as economic growth has picked up. Many companies hired aggressively after the pandemic and no longer need to fill more jobs. Others have held back due to widespread uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s shifting tariff policies, elevated inflation, and the spread of artificial intelligence, which could alter or even replace some jobs.
