Amazon plans to lay off about 10,000 employees in corporate and technology roles. According to sources, the layoffs could start as soon as this week and primarily impact full-time employees in the company’s devices business. Last week it was reported that Amazon was undergoing a cost-cutting review. More: - According to The Wall Street Journal, Amazon’s devices business, which includes products like Alexa and the Kindle, has lost $5B annually in recent years.
- Other Amazon units facing layoffs include human resources and retail.
- The 10,000 job cuts represent about 3% of Amazon’s corporate employees and less than 1% of the company’s global workforce.
- As of September, Amazon had more than 1.5 million workers worldwide, including its warehouse hourly employees.
- Amazon joins a growing list of tech companies like Meta, Stripe, and Lyft, who have announced layoffs in recent months.
- Last week Meta Platforms said it was laying off 11,000 employees, or about 13% of its workforce.
- Amazon shares were down ~1% during afternoon trading on Monday; the company is down more than 40% YTD.
In related news: - During a recent appearance on CNN, Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos warned consumers and business owners to reduce their risk by holding onto cash and postponing any planned large purchases.
- Bezos added that the economy does not look great right now, and things are slowing down, though he wasn’t sure if we were technically in a recession yet.
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Binance, Coinbase, and other crypto exchanges have been sending messages to their clients to reassure them their crypto assets are safe following the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX. Binance, the world’s largest crypto trading platform, Crypto.com, and others have promised to disclose proof that they have sufficient reserves to match their liabilities to customers. More: - On Friday, FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy showing it had less than $1B in sellable assets against $9B in liabilities.
- FTX’s collapse sent shock waves across the crypto industry, wiping more than $150B from the crypto market in days.
- Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao warned that FTX’s failure could have a ripple effect in the crypto sector similar to the 2008 global financial crisis.
- FTX, based in the Bahamas, released a statement last week after it suspended withdrawals that it would again allow withdrawals of Bahamian funds according to Bahamian HQ’s regulation and regulators.
- The Bahamas market regulator denied these claims, stating it had not directed, authorized, or suggested to FTX to prioritize withdrawals for Bahamian clients.
- On Saturday, blockchain forensics firm Elliptic disclosed that about $477M in crypto assets were taken from FTX late Friday night.
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Elon Musk is defending his multibillion-dollar Tesla pay package in Delaware’s Court of Chancery this week. Tesla shareholder Richard Tornetta is looking to cancel Musk’s 2018 compensation grant, valued at around $52B at current prices. More: - The plaintiff claims Tesla’s board failed to disclose crucial information about the pay package to shareholders, who approved it.
- Musk is expected to testify at the nonjury trial on Wednesday.
- Court proceedings started on Monday and are expected to last five days.
- Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick will hear the case.
- McCormick also presided over Twitter’s lawsuit against Musk to complete his $44B acquisition of the social media company.
- Several current and former Tesla board members are expected to testify during the trial, including former general counsel Todd Maron and former CFO Deepak Ahuja.
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Swiss drug maker Roche revealed on Monday that clinical trials of its antibody-drug gantenerumab did not slow the decline in people with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. The experimental drug targets beta-amyloid, the protein that clumps together into plaques in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients. More: - According to Roche, the two studies showed the level of plaque clearance was lower than expected.
- Following news of the failed trials, Roche shares fell more than 4% on Monday.
- Shares of biotech firm Biogen rose more than 3% on the news.
- The FDA approved Biogen’s Alzheimer’s treatment drug aducanumab last year.
- However, the drug’s approval has been mired in controversy as scientists claim the treatment does not work, and U.S. insurance providers have refused to cover it.
- According to the WHO, more than 55 million people live with dementia globally, and Alzheimer’s accounts for about 60% to 70% of cases.
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Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announced on Monday morning via Twitter that the exchange is forming a crypto industry recovery fund to help mitigate the adverse effects of FTX’s collapse. Zhao said crypto projects that are strong but facing a liquidity crisis should reach out to Binance Labs for assistance. More: - Zhao invited other industry players with cash who are interested to co-invest, adding that crypto isn’t going anywhere – “Let’s rebuild.”
- During an appearance at the B20 Summit in Indonesia, Zhao called for new, clear, and sophisticated regulation for the crypto sector.
- Zhao added that though regulators have a role to play within the crypto industry, it is not 100% their responsibility.
- Following Zhao’s announcement, Bitcoin inched toward $17,000.
- Since Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto exchange collapsed, roughly $200B has been wiped from the crypto sector.
- The total crypto market cap fell 24% between Nov. 8 and Nov. 10, reaching a $770B low.
- In November 2021, the total crypto market cap was around $3T.
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Chinese real estate stocks and bonds rose sharply on Monday following news that the People’s Bank of China will extend a year-end deadline for lenders to cap their ratio of real estate loans. The central bank’s decision is viewed as plans by Beijing to support the property sector, which has been overwhelmed by debt. More: - The extensions could impact about 26% of China’s total banking loans, providing lenders and developers more time to sort out their balance sheets.
- The Hang Seng Mainland Properties index rose 13% in Hong Kong.
- Shares of Country Garden, one of China’s biggest developers, increased by more than 36%.
- The 16-point relief plan from the People’s Bank of China and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission says property developers’ outstanding bank loans and trust borrowings due within the next six months could be extended for a year.
- Also, the repayment on their bonds can also be extended.
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- Elon Musk’s SpaceX has ordered one of the larger advertising packages from Twitter to promote the company’s satellite internet service, Starlink, in Australia and Spain. The ad package costs around $250,000.
- Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, during an interview with CNN, said he plans to donate most of his $124B net worth to charity in his lifetime. Bezos said he would donate most of his net worth to fighting climate change and supporting people who can help unify the fractured political landscape.
- President Biden met with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping on Monday in Bali during the G20 Summit. Both leaders agreed that competition between the U.S. and China should not veer into conflict, noting both nations must manage the competition responsibly and maintain open lines of communication.
- The Democrats retained the majority in the U.S. Senate after Catherine Cortez Masto won the re-election in Nevada and Mark Kelly defeated Donald Trump- and Peter Thiel-backed Republican candidate Blake Masters in Arizona.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie is a writer for Inside.com; she writes the daily Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, traveling, and exploring. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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