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Amazon employees are pushing back against the company’s AI-heavy pivot, accusing leadership of prioritizing AI investments over climate commitments and the human workforce. Thousands have signed an open letter to CEO Andy Jassy and senior leadership. The letter, published last week, has drawn more than 1,000 signatures from Amazon employees — who can sign anonymously while listing their roles — and over 2,000 people outside the company. “We, the undersigned Amazon employees, have serious concerns about this aggressive rollout during the global rise of authoritarianism and our most important years to reverse the climate crisis. We believe that the all-costs-justified, warp-speed approach to AI development will do staggering damage to democracy, to our jobs, and to the earth,” the letter states. “We’re the workers who develop, train, and use AI, so we have a responsibility to intervene.” In the letter, employees accused Amazon of “casting aside its climate goals to build AI,” noting...
Google has unveiled a new project that will reduce the environmental impact of AI on Earth. The tech company unveiled Project Suncatcher, which aims to launch data centers in space powered by solar energy, Business Insider reports. Google is exploring bringing the project to life through a web of solar-powered satellites, equipped with its Tensor Processing Unit AI chips, according to a press release. The project aims to “one day scale machine learning in space.” “Inspired by other Google moonshots like autonomous vehicles and quantum computing, we’ve begun work on the foundational work needed to one day make this future possible,” notes the press release. Google CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed that the company plans to launch the space data centers by 2027. “We’ll send tiny, tiny racks of machines, and have them in satellites, test them out, and then start scaling from there,” Pichai said, according to Business Insider. “At Google, we’re always proud of taking moonshots. One of our...
Verizon Communications plans to cut roughly 15,000 jobs in the coming week in its largest-ever round of layoffs, sources familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The telecommunications company also intends to shift about 200 retail stores to franchise operations, moving those employees off Verizon’s payroll. Securities filings show that Verizon, the largest U.S. telecom provider by subscriber count, had about 100,000 employees as of February 2025, according to the WSJ. The cuts are part of a broader cost-reduction effort as the company faces increased competition in both the wireless and home internet markets, sources told the WSJ. Verizon has lost postpaid phone subscribers for three straight quarters as rivals continue to lure customers away. In the latest quarter, the company reported a net loss of 7,000 consumer postpaid phone lines — missing Wall Street projections — while AT&T and T-Mobile continued to grow their postpaid bases, notes the WSJ. New CEO...
AT&T will pay out $177 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over two customer data breaches revealed last year — and the deadline to file a claim is approaching, according to CNET. In one breach, which occurred in 2019 but wasn’t reported until March 30, 2024, hackers released sensitive information, including “a combination of names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, account passcodes, billing account numbers, and Social Security numbers,” on the dark web, according to the court-authorized settlement website managed by the Kroll Settlement Administration LLC. Another breach, disclosed on July 12, 2024, involved the illegal download of limited data on April 14, 2024, including customer details and phone numbers linked to affected accounts. The exposed information may have included call data of current and former AT&T customers, such as “the telephone numbers with which those customers interacted, counts of those interactions, aggregate call durations...
SoftBank has sold its entire $5.83 billion stake in U.S. chipmaker Nvidia to focus on its OpenAI investment. The Japanese investment firm announced on Nov. 11, 2025, that it sold 32.1 million Nvidia shares in October, along with a portion of its T-Mobile stake, which sold for $9.17 billion, CNBC reports . Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto said the sales were part of the company’s “asset monetization” strategy. “We want to provide a lot of investment opportunities for investors, while we can still maintain financial strength,” Goto said during an investor presentation, per CNBC. The CFO also announced a four-for-one stock split . “So through those options and tools, we make sure that we are ready for funding in a very safe manner,” he added. A source reportedly told CNBC that SoftBank’s share sales of Nvidia and T-Mobile, along with a margin loan on its Arm holdings, are “sources of cash” for its $22.5 billion investment in OpenAI and for other projects, such as the acquisition...
Mustafa Suleyman has high hopes for the future of superintelligence and its impact on humanity. During a conversation at AFROTECH™ Conference 2025, he joked that he grew up playing “Snake” on a Nokia phone, which was supposedly a “phenomenon” when it launched in the late ’90s. Suleyman’s fascination with technological advancements never wavered, and his enthusiasm remains strong as the CEO of Microsoft AI. He shared his thoughts on superintelligence, stating early on that it “must always work in service of humanity.” He also offered his predictions for it by 2040. He expressed optimism about its potential to benefit humankind, believing that if developed successfully, it would align with human interests and improve the standard of living. Suleyman explained that it is already capable of world-class medical diagnostics and continues to advance in emotional intelligence and autonomous action. “It’s going to learn to use APIs, send emails, make phone calls, interact with us,” he...
International Business Machines Corp. ( IBM ) announced on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2025, that it will cut thousands of jobs in the fourth quarter as the company pivots toward higher-growth areas such as AI consulting and software. The technology company, which had 270,000 employees at the end of 2024, said the move aligns its workforce with changing market demand, according to The New York Times. “We routinely review our workforce through this lens and at times rebalance accordingly,” a company spokesperson said, per Bloomberg. “In the fourth quarter, we are executing an action that will impact a low single-digit percentage of our global workforce.” For years, IBM has practiced what it calls “workforce rebalancing,” cutting some positions while adding others, The Times reports. The number of workers in the United States is expected to remain steady despite some cuts. Since Arvind Krishna took over as CEO in 2020, IBM has pushed aggressively into high-growth areas such as cloud computing...
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy addressed the company’s recent layoffs during its quarterly earnings call on Oct. 30, saying the decision to cut 14,000 corporate positions was based on cultural factors rather than financial or AI-related reasons, Fortune reports. “The announcement that we made a few days ago was not really financially driven, and it’s not even really AI-driven, not right now at least,” he said during the call. “It’s culture.” The Amazon layoffs, which largely affected middle management, followed a June 2025 memo, according to a previous Fortune report. In it, Jassy said that advancements in AI have increased efficiency across the company. In a separate internal communication, Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, described the restructuring as an effort to adjust to the “transformative technology” of AI. Amazon’s workforce has grown significantly in recent years. The company currently employs about 1.55 million people worldwide,...
International Business Machines Corp. ( IBM ) is facing a lawsuit alleging it discriminated against Black executives when it terminated them to align with the Trump administration’s push to eliminate federal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. Former IBM executive Zena Washington filed the 15-page lawsuit on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. According to the suit, Washington, who spent 26 years with the company before her dismissal in February 2025, held various roles in product management and engineering, most recently serving as director of product management for data and AI . According to the lawsuit, Washington “was viewed as an excellent employee” and consistently received positive performance reviews and bonuses. She was also selected for an IBM program that prepares employees for senior executive roles. “This is further evidence that until her termination, IBM viewed the plaintiff as one of the most highly valuable employees with strong potential to go into a C-Suite...
Netflix’s Board of Directors has approved a 10-for-1 stock split, the company announced in a news release on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. Shareholders of record at the close of trading on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, will receive nine additional shares for each share held, effective after the close on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. Trading on a split-adjusted basis is expected to begin Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. Netflix said the split aims to “reset the market price of the Company’s common stock to a range that will be more accessible” for employees with stock options . Netflix shares rose by 2% in after-hours trading following the 10-for-1 stock split announcement, Business Insider reports . The stock closed Thursday at $1,089, up 42% over the past year, and is one of only 10 S&P 500 stocks trading above $1,000, reports CNBC. Thursday’s 10-for-1 split marks Netflix’s third split-stock decision, following a 2-for-1 split in 2004 and a 7-for-1 split in 2015, per Yahoo! Finance. What Is A Stock Split?...
The construction of hyperscale AI data centers is booming across the United States, but non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) keep many details hidden from affected communities. According to NBC News, major tech companies require landowners and public officials to sign NDAs to receive limited information and the promise of economic benefits. In March 2025, three men approached Dr. Timothy Grosser and his son Andy with a $10 million offer for their 250-acre Mason County, KY, farm — 35 times what they paid in 1988 and far above local land prices. The buyers refused to reveal their identities, with one man claiming to represent a “Fortune 100 company” but offering no names — only an NDA. Dr. Grosser said the contract would have barred him from discussing the project, offering only limited details about its purpose, timeline, and size in return. “We refused to sign it,” Grosser said, per NBC. “I’m not selling my farm for any amount of money.” Grosser is among 20 residents offered deals to...
The future of ridesharing is here. Digital Tasks To Get Paid Uber is piloting a new way for its drivers to earn money when they’re not on the road. In a blog post, the company said it is piloting digital tasks for select drivers and couriers. According to Newsweek, the initiative was first introduced during the “Only on Uber 2025” conference in Washington, D.C., and its AI Solutions group will power it. The feature is already being tested in India. The company gave several examples of tasks a driver can fulfill in just a few minutes, including uploading photos to train AI models, submitting documents in different languages, or recording yourself speaking in a language. “Uber connects you with companies that need real people to help improve their technology. By completing short digital tasks across different languages and topics, you’ll help make their products smarter — while earning extra through the Uber app,” the company said in the blog post. Drivers will be able to earn more...
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have joined others in signing a statement calling for “a prohibition on the development of superintelligence” AI systems for the time being. Future of Life Institute (FLI), an AI safety group based in the United States that called for a pause on advanced AI development in 2023, organized the statement, according to The Guardian. It is aimed at tech companies , governments, and lawmakers, and includes signatures from AI pioneers and Nobel laureates. While artificial intelligence (AI) refers to systems that can match human intelligence in most cognitive tasks, artificial superintelligence (ASI) describes hypothetical systems that would exceed human intelligence. “The future of AI should serve humanity, not replace it. The true test of progress will be not how fast we move, but how wisely we steer,” Harry wrote in a comment alongside his signature. The statement urges that the ban on ASI development remain in place until...
Amazon’s workforce has tripled in the United States since 2018, reaching nearly 1.2 million employees, reports The New York Times. Now, the nation’s second-largest employer is accelerating automation, with plans to use robots in place of what would have been 600,000 workers hired by 2033, even though sales are projected to double by then. According to The Times, interviews and leaked internal documents reveal that Amazon plans to automate 75% of its operations, potentially eliminating 160,000 jobs in the U.S. by 2027. Automation would save Amazon around 30 cents per item shipped, amounting to an estimated $12.6 billion in savings between 2025 and 2027. At facilities designed for superfast deliveries, Amazon is trying to create warehouses that employ few humans at all. In 2024, Amazon opened its most advanced robotic warehouse in Shreveport, La. — a model for future fulfillment centers, per The Times. After a package is sealed there, human hands rarely touch it again. The outlet...
Meta will be making cuts on its team working on AI. Superintelligence Labs The New York Times reports that the tech company co-founded by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg was ramping up its effort to lead in AI, which caused it to take on more employees than needed, s ources close to the matter explained. Now, 600 workers in its AI division, Superintelligence Labs, have been laid off. Over the past three years, the company has been gearing up to compete with Google, OpenAI, and others, Axios reports. “For our superintelligence effort, I’m focused on building the most elite and talent-dense team in the industry,” Zuckerberg said on Threads on July 14. “We’re also going to invest hundreds of billions of dollars into compute to build superintelligence. We have the capital from our business to do this.” Meta Is Reportedly Laying Off 600 AI Workers Teams specifically said to be impacted will be those working in Meta’s FAIR AI research, product-related AI, and AI infrastructure units, which is...