Amazon plans to lay off 10,000 people in coming days: Report
New York(PTI): Technology giant Amazon plans to lay off 10,000 people in the coming days, adding to the bloodbath being witnessed in the technology world after Twitter and Facebook parent Meta significantly trimmed their workforces.
The New York Times said in a report Monday that Amazon plans to lay off approximately 10,000 people in "corporate and technology jobs starting as soon as this week."
While the NYT said in its report that the total number of layoffs remains "fluid", the 10,000 people who could be let go represent roughly three per cent of Amazon's corporate employees and less than one per cent of its global workforce of more than 1.5 million composed primarily of hourly workers.
"The cuts will focus on Amazon's devices organisation, including the voice-assistant Alexa, as well as at its retail division and in human resources," the report said.
Amazon's layoffs come just weeks after Twitter's new owner billionaire Elon Musk reduced the social media's workforce by half and Meta announced it will lay off 13 per cent of its workforce or 11,000 employees.
The report of impending layoffs at Amazon also comes on the day its founder Jeff Bezos told CNN he plans to give away the majority of his USD 124 billion net worth to charity within his lifetime.
Troubled times had been brewing at Amazon as the NYT reported that from April through September, the tech giant reduced its headcount by almost 80,000 people, primarily shrinking its hourly staff through high attrition.
"Amazon froze hiring in several smaller teams in September. In October, it stopped filling more than 10,000 open roles in its core retail business. Two weeks ago, it froze corporate hiring across the company, including its cloud computing division, for the next few months. That news came so suddenly that recruiters did not receive talking points for job candidates until almost a week later, according to a copy of the talking points seen by The New York Times," it said.
The NYT report said that Amazon's "planned retrenchment during the critical holiday shopping season when the company typically has valued stability shows how quickly the souring global economy has put pressure on it to trim businesses that have been overstaffed or underdelivering for years.
After experiencing its "most profitable era on record" during the COVID-19 pandemic years, which saw exponential growth in online consumer spending, "Amazon's growth slowed to the lowest rate in two decades, as the bullwhip of the pandemic snapped."
The report noted that during the pandemic years, as consumers flocked to online shopping and companies to Amazon's cloud computing services, the tech giant doubled its workforce in two years, and channelled its winnings into "expansion and experimentation to find the next big things."
However, as the world recovered from the pandemic and consumers scaled back on online shopping, Amazon faced "high costs from decisions to overinvest and rapidly expand, while changes in shopping habits and high inflation dented sales."
Amazon's retail business covering its physical and online retail business and its logistics operations has been "under strain" after the surge of demand and "breakneck expansion" during the pandemic, NYT said. Amazon has said it has pulled back expansion plans and has told investors it sees uncertainty with consumers.
"We're realistic that there are various factors weighing on people's wallets," Brian Olsavsky, the finance chief, told investors last month, according to the NYT report. He said the company was unsure where spending was heading, but "we're ready for a variety of outcomes."
The NYT report added that in recent months, Amazon has shut down or pared back several of its initiatives, including Amazon Care, which provided primary and urgent health care after it failed to find enough customers; Scout, the cooler-size home delivery robot, that employed 400 people and Fabric.com, a subsidiary that sold sewing supplies for three decades.
For Amazon, Devices and Alexa have long been seen internally as at risk for cuts. The NYT report said Alexa and related devices "rocketed to a top company priority as Amazon raced to create the leading voice assistant, which leaders thought could succeed mobile phones as the next essential consumer interface."
From 2017 to 2018, Amazon doubled its staff on Alexa and Echo devices to 10,000 engineers. "At one point, any engineer getting a job offer for other Amazon roles was supposed to also get an offer from Alexa," it said.
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MP HC sets up judicial commission to probe water contamination in Indore
Indore (PTI): The Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday set up a commission of inquiry comprising a former HC judge to probe the issue of water contamination in city's Bhagirathpura, saying the matter requires probe by an independent, credible authority and "urgent judicial scrutiny".
It also directed the commission to submit an interim report after four weeks from the date of commencement of proceedings.
A division bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi constituted the commission while hearing several public interest litigations (PILs) filed simultaneously regarding the deaths of several people in Bhagirathpura due to the consumption of contaminated water.
The HC reserved the order after hearing all the parties during the day, and released it late at night.
The state government on Tuesday told the HC that the deaths of 16 people in Indore's Bhagirathpura area was possibly linked to a month-long outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water.
The government presented an audit report of 23 deaths from the current gastroenteritis epidemic in Bhagirathpura before the bench, suggesting that 16 of these fatalities may have been linked to the outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water.
The report, prepared by a committee of five experts from the city's Government Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, stated that the deaths of four people in Bhagirathpura were unrelated to the outbreak, while no conclusion could be reached regarding the cause of death of three other people in the area.
During the hearing, the high court sought to know from the state government the scientific basis behind its report.
The division bench also expressed surprise at the state government's use of the term "verbal autopsy" in relation to the report, sarcastically stating that it had heard the term for the first time.
The HC expressed concern over the Bhagirathpura case, stating that the situation was "alarming," and noted that cases of people falling ill due to contaminated drinking water have also been reported in Mhow, near Indore.
In its order, the HC said the serious issue concerning contamination of the drinking water supply in Bhagirathpura area allegedly resulted in widespread health hazards to residents, including children and elderly persons.
According to the petitioners and media reports, death toll is about 30 till today, but the report depicts only 16 without any basis or record, it said.
It is averred that sewage mixing, leakage in the pipeline, and failure of civic authorities to maintain potable water standards have led to the outbreak of water-borne diseases. Photographs, medical reports, and complaints submitted to the authorities prima facie indicate a matter requiring urgent judicial scrutiny, the HC said.
"Considering the gravity of the allegation and affecting the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India and the need for an independent fact-finding exercise, the Court is of the opinion that the matter requires investigation by an independent, credible authority," it said.
"Accordingly, we appoint Justice Sushil Kumar Gupta, former judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, a one-man commission of inquiry into the issues relating to water contamination in Bhagirathpura, Indore, and its impact on other areas of the city," the HC added.
As per the order, the commission shall inquire into and submit a report on the cause of contamination -- whether the drinking water supplied to Bhagirathpura was contaminated; and the source and nature of contamination (sewage ingress, industrial discharge, pipeline damage etc).
The panel will also probe the number of actual deaths of affected residents on account of contaminated water; find out the nature of disease reported and adequacy of medical response and preventive measures; suggest immediate steps required to ensure safe drinking water as well as long-term infrastructural and monitoring reforms.
It will also identify and fix responsibility upon the officers and officials found prima facie responsible for the Bhagirathpura water contamination incident, and suggest guidelines for compensation to affected residents, particularly vulnerable sections.
The commission shall have powers of a civil court for the purpose of summoning officials and witnesses; calling up records from the government department, hospitals, laboratories and civic bodies; ordering water quality testing through accredited laboratories; conducting spot inspections.
All state authorities involving district administration, Indore Municipal Corporation, public health engineering department and Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board shall extend full co-operation and provide records as sought by the commission, it said.
The state government shall provide office space, staff, and logistical support to the commission, it said.
During the hearing in the day, the state government also presented a status report to the court in this matter.
According to reports, a total of 454 patients were admitted to local hospitals during the vomiting and diarrhea outbreak, of whom 441 have been discharged after treatment, and 11 are currently hospitalised.
According to officials, due to a leak in the municipal drinking water pipeline in Bhagirathpura, sewage from a toilet was also mixed in the water.
