Amazon

Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) net sales in the fourth quarter of 2022 were $149.2 billion, compared with analysts’ expectations of $145.8 billion; AWS net sales in the fourth quarter were $21.38 billion, compared with analysts’ expectations of $21.76 billion; net sales in the first quarter were expected to be $121-126 billion, compared with analysts’ expectations of $125.55 billion; fourth-quarter earnings per share were $0.030, compared with analysts’ expectations of $0.169; fourth-quarter operating profit was $2.7 billion, compared with analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion.

According to Amazon’s official website, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy released an all-staff letter today, saying that the company plans to cut more than 18,000 employees, more than the 17,000 reported by the media earlier. Jassy said the company intends to begin communicating with affected employees Jan. 18. Several teams were affected, he said, however, most of the positions that were cut were in our Amazon store and PXT (People Experience and Technology Solutions) organizations. That would be the largest layoff for U.S. tech companies during the current economic slowdown, but Amazon also has far more employees than its Silicon Valley counterparts. As of the end of last September, the company had more than 1.5 million employees, meaning the latest layoffs would account for just over 1% of its total workforce.

According to people familiar with the matter, Amazon has discussed developing a standalone sports content viewing app. The company’s CEO, Andy Jassy, is ramping up his efforts in the streaming business. While one of the people said the company has yet to decide whether to move forward with the plan, discussions suggest that Amazon may be considering new ways to generate revenue from the multibillion-dollar deal it signed with live sports. So far, most of these sporting events are included in the standard Prime membership subscription service.

Amazon began using Prime Air drone deliveries in Rockford, California, and College Station, Texas, on Friday. Amazon hopes to use the feedback from the service to improve operations and eventually roll out the service nationwide. To fly delivery drones in the United States, companies must be approved by the FAA, and the retail giant is one of only a few companies in the U.S. to be partially certified 135 times.

According to Bloomberg, Amazon is considering selling idle cargo space on cargo planes in response to slowing growth in e-commerce sales. It is reported that Amazon has about 100 freighters in Europe and the United States, and the company has hired a director with experience in marketing air cargo space in recent months. Possible options include loading cargo such as pineapples and salmon on cargo planes returning from Hawaii and Alaska, the sources said.

In a monthly survey, 70% of economists believe that there will be a recession in the United States in the first half of 2023. But Amazon doesn’t expect a recession. The firm’s economists put the probability of a U.S. recession in the next six months at just 30 percent. In addition, Amazon’s economists believe that if a recession does occur, the company will not suffer much, because 60% of the company’s revenue comes from high-income consumer groups, which are less affected by high unemployment and other consequences of the recession.