Meta investors, Meta CEO Zuckerberg settle US$8 billion lawsuit over Facebook privacy violations
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CNA
3 hours ago
- CNA
Amazon's AWS cloud computing unit cuts at least hundreds of jobs: Sources
SAN FRANCISCO: Amazon cut at least hundreds of jobs in its Amazon Web Services cloud computing unit on Thursday (Jul 17), two sources said, just a month after CEO Andy Jassy warned that adoption of generative AI tools would trigger a workforce reduction. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed it had cut jobs but did not provide a number. Amazon, which employed 1.6 million full- and part-time workers globally as of the end of March, has joined a growing list of firms, including Microsoft, Meta, and CrowdStrike in announcing layoffs this year. Many corporations are increasingly using artificial intelligence to write code for their software and adopting AI agents to automate routine tasks, as they look to save costs and cut reliance on people. 'We've made the difficult business decision to eliminate some roles across particular teams in AWS,' the Amazon spokesperson said in an emailed statement. 'These decisions are necessary as we continue to invest, hire, and optimise resources to deliver innovation for our customers.' CNA has contacted AWS for more information. AWS sales rose 17 per cent in the first quarter to US$29.3 billion compared to a year earlier and operating income rose 23 per cent to US$11.5 billion. Several employees told Reuters they had received emails on Thursday morning that told them they had been terminated and their computers were being deactivated. While Reuters could not determine the full scope of the layoffs, at least one group, known as 'specialists,' was affected. Specialists work with customers to help create new product ideas and sell existing services. Several groups within AWS were part of the layoffs, Amazon said. Amazon has been making piecemeal job cuts, most recently in its books, devices and services unit, as well as its Wondery podcast division. Jassy is reducing what he has described as an excess of bureaucracy at the company, including by eliminating managers.
CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
Meta investors, Meta CEO Zuckerberg settle US$8 billion lawsuit over Facebook privacy violations
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has agreed to settle a US$8 billion lawsuit brought by shareholders who accused the company's leadership of failing to prevent repeated privacy violations. The last-minute deal came just before testimony was set to continue in a Delaware court over Meta's handling of scandals like the Cambridge Analytica data breach. Ira Spitzer reports from San Francisco.
CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
Fed's governor Waller wants July interest rate cut amid rising growth, job market risks
NEW YORK: Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said on Thursday (Jul 17) he continues to believe the US central bank should cut interest rates at the end of this month amid mounting risks to the economy and the strong likelihood that tariff-induced inflation will not drive a persistent rise in price pressures. 'It makes sense to cut the FOMC's policy rate by 25 basis points two weeks from now,' Waller told a gathering of the Money Marketeers of New York University. 'I see the hard and soft data on economic activity and the labour market as consistent: The economy is still growing, but its momentum has slowed significantly, and the risks to the (Federal Open Market Committee's) employment mandate have increased,' and that justifies cutting rates, he said. All the evidence suggests the Fed can look through the impact of tariffs and focus on other issues affecting the economy, he added. The Fed's next policy meeting is scheduled for Jul 29 to Jul 30. Waller is one of two Fed officials who have expressed interest in cutting rates this month, reckoning the import tax surge will be a one-time event that policy makers can look through. A July easing could be followed by more rate cuts, as the Fed no longer needs a monetary policy stance designed to slow the economy, Waller said, noting the Fed's interest rate target is well above the 3 per cent officials consider its long-run level. If underlying inflation remains in check and expectations of future price increases stay contained amid slow growth, 'I would support further 25 basis point cuts to move monetary policy toward neutral,' he said. A neutral level rate is considered neither contractionary nor expansionary. The last time the Fed cut rates was in December 2024, when it trimmed its policy rate by 25 basis points. Waller warned that not easing this month could create issues down the road. 'If we cut our target range in July and subsequent employment and inflation data point toward fewer cuts, we would have the option of holding policy steady for one or more meetings,' Waller said. But if economic weakness accelerated, 'waiting until September or even later in the year would risk us falling behind the curve of appropriate policy,' he said. Fed policy is not on a preset course and decisions on where to set rates would be done meeting-by-meeting, he added. Waller is one of the last central bank officials to weigh in on the economy as policymakers go into their customary quiet period ahead of the policy meeting at the end of this month. Most central bank officials who have spoken have signalled no interest in changing the Fed's 4.25 per cent to 4.5 per cent interest rate target now, as inflation remains above target, the economy is generally faring well, and it's unclear how much upward price pressure President Donald Trump's trade tariffs will create. Financial markets are currently pricing in a September starting date for rate cuts and Fed officials pencilled in two easings at their June meeting. Waller stressed in recent remarks that his interest in cutting rates soon was 'not political.' Waller is widely viewed as in the running to succeed Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who has been under regular attack from Trump for not cutting rates. Waller was asked at the gathering whether anyone from the Trump administration had approached him about becoming Fed chair. He replied "no", without elaboration. On Wednesday, reports indicated the president was close to firing Powell amid a lack of clarity over whether the action would be legal, with Trump later denying those reports. The Fed has also been in the crosshairs of the administration over cost overruns involving its headquarters, and Waller said that it was not uncommon for these types of projects to see something like this happen. In his remarks, Waller noted data points to a job market that is 'on the edge' of trouble. At the same time, he said that if 10 per cent tariffs were sustained, that would add only 0.75 per cent to 1 per cent to inflation. Waller also said the cost of paying for Trump's import tax surge will be split: Consumers will pay for a third of the increase, with the remainder split between foreign goods producers and the importers of those products.
