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Amazon is cutting hundreds of jobs from its AWS division

Amazon announced on Wednesday that it's cutting several hundred roles in its cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services (AWS).

If you’ve ever streamed a movie on Netflix, attended a meeting on Zoom, or scrolled through your Facebook feed, you've indirectly used AWS, which provides computing power, storage, databases, servers, and more to millions of businesses — helping it to become the profit center of Amazon’s increasingly sprawling empire. Indeed, although it accounted for just 16% of revenue last year, AWS alone contributed 67% of the company’s ~$37 billion in operating profit.‍

Efficiency: From A to Z‍

The layoffs came just a day after Amazon ditched the “Just Walk Out” cashier-less technology used at its grocery stores — which turned out to be heavily reliant on a review team team in India — and at an interesting time for Amazon generally.

Although it overlaps with its peers Alphabet, Meta, Apple, and Nvidia in many ways, Amazon is a much more complicated entity: for example, no other tech company owns grocery stores. It’s the nation’s second-largest private employer, with 22x more people on its payroll than Meta, and the company’s core expertise is in less buzzy niches: deliveries, servers, supply chain logistics, e-commerce seller services, and, increasingly, ads.

Those businesses are wildly different, but Amazon’s ruthless drive for efficiency is universally applied to them all. The layoffs in the AWS division follow cuts in the subscription services business — home to Prime, Audible, and Twitch — earlier this year, and all told Amazon has shed more than 27,000 roles since the end of 2022 across almost every area of the company.‍

FOMO: Amazon isn’t completely ignoring the shiny new sectors, recently completing a $4 billion investment into AI startup Anthropic.

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Starbucks issues apology after viral “Bearista” cup meltdown

Holiday cheer turned into chaos this week for Starbucks after the coffee giant’s new “Bearista” holiday cup sent fans into a frenzy. 

Dropped alongside its 2025 holiday menu, the $30 beanie-wearing glass bear tumbler sparked long lines, sellouts, and even in-store scuffles before Starbucks stepped in with an apology.

“The excitement for our merchandise exceeded even our biggest expectations,” the company said in a statement to People. “Despite shipping more Bearista cups to our coffeehouses than almost any other item this holiday season, the Bearista cup and some other items sold out fast.”

Within hours of launch, frustrated fans flooded Starbucks’ social media pages and even store hotlines. Some customers waited in line before dawn and others said their stores received only a handful of cups. In one Houston location, the craze even turned physical, with police reportedly called to break up a brawl. Meanwhile, the cup is already reselling on sites like eBay, with listings topping $600.

“We understand many customers were excited about the Bearista cup and apologize for the disappointment this may have caused,” Starbucks said. While in-store customers may be upset, investors seem happy about the viral hit, as the stock has risen over 3% on Friday.

If you’re still hoping for a Bearista at market price, that may not be on order: the chain didn’t disclose how many cups were made or whether a restock is planned.

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Target tells workers to smile, wave, and greet shoppers if they come within 10 feet of them

Target just rolled out a new rule for store employees: smile, make eye contact, and greet or wave when a shopper comes within 10 feet — and if they get closer, within four feet, ask whether they need help or how their day is going, according to a new Bloomberg report.

Dubbed the 10-4 program internally, the rule mirrors rival Walmarts own 10-foot policy, formalizing behavior Target had previously only encouraged.

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Monster surges on energy drink buzz, while Celsius sinks on distribution concerns

Shares of Monster Beverage climbed 5% after the bell on Thursday, and held most of those gains into early trading on Friday, following strong Q3 results.

The energy drink giant topped market expectations, with quarterly sales up 17% year over year to $2.2 billion and adjusted net profits growing 41% to $524.5 million — 11% ahead of Wall Street’s estimates. In the report, Monster highlighted its zero-sugar line and new product launches, with a stack of novel flavors already released this year, as bright spots.

During a call with analysts, Chief Executive Hilton Schlosberg said that the global energy drink category “remains healthy with robust growth,” The Wall Street Journal reported, adding that demand for more affordable caffeinated drinks is rising as coffee has become “really expensive.”

Meanwhile, rival beverage business Celsius saw shares fall as much as 23% on its Q3 results yesterday — despite beating expectations, with revenue jumping 173% — largely due to concerns about a change in the company’s distribution channel, as its newly acquired Alani Nu brand joins the PepsiCo distribution network.

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