Starbucks continues cutting corporate staff as CEO Brian Niccol pushes ahead with a sweeping turnaround effort that has already reshaped parts of the coffee giant's business. The company announced on Friday that it is eliminating about 300 US support roles and reviewing its international support organization, a move that could result in additional layoffs outside the US. Starbucks is also consolidating regional office space and reevaluating lease commitments to cut costs and streamline operations.
The United Videogame Workers-CWA Local 9433 is a direct-join organization that, according to organizers, is meant to provide a channel into activism and organizing for workers in a fragmented industry. The day of the organization's launch, its membership swelled to triple digits, and CWA members led an impromptu march from a panel discussion in Moscone's West Hall to the bandshell in Yerba Buena Gardens, accompanied by cheers from passersby.
We're not making this decision because we're in trouble. Our business is strong. Gross profit continues to grow, we continue to serve more and more customers, and profitability is improving. But something has changed. We're already seeing that the intelligence tools we're creating and using, paired with smaller and flatter teams, are enabling a new way of working which fundamentally changes what it means to build and run a company.
More than 1,000 Amazon employees have signed an open letter expressing serious concerns about AI development, saying that the company's all-costs justified, warp speed approach to the powerful technology will cause damage to democracy, to our jobs, and to the earth. The letter, published on Wednesday, was signed by the Amazon workers anonymously, and comes a month after Amazon announced mass layoff plans as it increases adoption of AI in its operations.
