The company is now set to become part of the same wave of layoffs undertaken by both Meta and Twitter in recent weeks, moves that the companies have justified by pointing to a downturn of the technology sector after the pandemic, when the industry thrived.
Meta announced on November 9 that it’s laying off some 11,000 workers, about 13 percent of its staff, while Twitter is said to have fired about half its work force in the days following Elon Musk’s takeover of the company.
Bezos has not yet commented on the reported layoffs, but in an interview with CNN on Monday he announced he will give away a majority of his wealth during his lifetime. The billionaire made the promise as he announced he was donating $100 million to country singer Dolly Parton as part of his annual Courage and Civility award. Parton will give the money to a charity of her choice.
Bezos has long been considered a reluctant philanthropist, having failed to join Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg in signing the Giving Pledge—a campaign encouraging the extremely wealthy to give away a majority of their fortune to worthy causes—and being completely overshadowed by the generosity of his ex-wife, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.
Apart from Parton, Bezos has not yet specified who he will give his money to, though he said he wants to use his wealth to fight climate change and support people “who use unity instead of conflict.”
In fact, the billionaire has said finding worthy causes is difficult.
“The hard part is figuring out how to do it in a levered way—it is not easy,” Bezos said in an interview with CNN.
