Category Archives: Amazon

EU unveils package of laws to curb power of big tech firms

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‘Revolutionary’ Digital Markets Act aims to allow more competition and let consumers delete preloaded phone apps

The EU has unveiled a set of “revolutionary” laws to curb the power of six big tech companies, including allowing consumers to decide what apps they want on their phone and to delete pre-loaded software such as Google or Apple’s maps apps.

The package of laws will also pave the way for more competition in some of the areas most guarded by the tech firms, including Apple Wallet and Google Pay.

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US publisher of pro-fascist books revealed as military veteran

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Bailey Ross, reported air force reservist and former Coast Guard service member, linked to Agartha Publishing in South Dakota

The Guardian has identified a trainee nurse and reported US air force reservist called Bailey Ross as the proprietor of a white nationalist publisher in South Dakota.

Ross was also a paid-up member of a white nationalist organization that marched at Charlottesville while enlisted in the United States Coast Guard.

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Small firms fear going bust as Amazon extends wait time for sale proceeds

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Marketplace sellers in UK and rest of Europe say having to wait over a week means they will struggle to pay staff and loans

Amazon has told thousands of marketplace sellers in the UK and continental Europe it will hold on to sale proceeds for more than a week in a move that small businesses say could force them to go bust.

The company has written to sellers to inform them it will no longer credit their accounts as soon as a sale is made online but will do so a week after an item has been delivered.

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‘We’re going to keep fighting’: delivery workers stand up to Amazon

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Unionized workers at delivery service partner in California fight company’s intent to terminate contract

Amazon is embroiled in a fight with workers at one of its delivery service partners in what union activists say is part of a longstanding anti-union drive by the retail giant which is now facing scrutiny in the US Senate for its anti-labor rights practices.

At Battle Tested Strategies, an Amazon delivery service partner in Palmdale, California, workers are currently fighting Amazon’s intent to terminate the delivery service partner’s contract on Saturday.

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Amazon’s Ring doorbell was used to spy on customers, FTC says in privacy case

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In the agency’s latest effort to hold big tech accountable, the company agreed to settle the privacy violations for $5.8m

A former employee of Amazon’s Ring doorbell camera unit spied on female customers for months in 2017 with cameras placed in bedrooms and bathrooms, the Federal Trade Commission said in a court filing on Wednesday when it announced a $5.8m settlement with the company over privacy violations.

Amazon also agreed to pay $25m to settle allegations it violated children’s privacy rights when it failed to delete Alexa recordings at the request of parents and kept them longer than necessary, according to a court filing in federal court in Seattle that outlined a separate settlement.

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Amazon’s main UK division pays no corporation tax for second year in a row

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Amazon UK Services received tax credit of £7.7m for investment in infrastructure under Rishi Sunak’s super-deduction scheme

Amazon’s main UK division has paid no corporation tax for the second year in a row after benefiting from tax credits on a chunk of its £1.6bn of investment in infrastructure, including robotic equipment at its warehouses.

Amazon UK Services, which employs more than half of the group’s UK workers, received a tax credit of £7.7m in the year to the end of December, according to accounts filed at Companies House, advance details of which were shared by Amazon with the Guardian.

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Corporate Amazon workers walk out over climate goals and return to office

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Employees also objected to the recent layoffs, with about 27,000 jobs cut since November 2022

Hundreds of corporate Amazon workers protested what they decried as the company’s lack of progress on climate goals and an inequitable return-to-office mandate during a lunchtime demonstration at its Seattle headquarters.

The protest on Wednesday comes a week after Amazon’s annual shareholder meeting and a month after a policy took effect requiring workers to return to the office three days a week.

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Amazon workers in Coventry to request union recognition after membership doubles

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It would be first time a UK union wins formal negotiation rights and comes after GMB-organised strikes at warehouse

Amazon workers at the delivery firm’s Coventry depot are demanding formal union recognition, after membership more than doubled during strike action.

If granted, it would be the first time a union in the UK has won the right to negotiate with the American tech firm.

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Major tech firms face hefty fines under new digital consumer bill

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Global companies like Google, Apple and Amazon could have to pay penalties of up to 10% of their global turnover as government gives competition watchdog more power

Major tech firms face the threat of multibillion-pound fines for breaching consumer protection rules under new legislation that will tackle issues including fake online reviews and subscriptions that are difficult to cancel.

The digital markets, competition and consumers bill will empower the UK’s competition watchdog to tackle the “excessive dominance” that a small number of tech firms hold over consumers and businesses.

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Amazon workers in Coventry begin first of two three-day strikes

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Workers gather at picket line on Sunday in ongoing demand for pay increase from £11 to £15 an hour

Workers at Amazon’s Coventry warehouse have begun a fresh round of strike action in a dispute about pay during the cost of living crisis.

GMB union members are planning three days of strikes at the huge Coventry centre, known as BHX4, from Sunday 16 to Tuesday 18 April, to be followed by three further days, from 21 to 23 April.

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CMA to investigate Amazon’s $1.7bn takeover of Roomba firm

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Competition watchdog calls for evidence deal could give online retailer dominance in smart home market

Amazon’s $1.7bn takeover of the owner of the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner is being examined by the UK’s competition watchdog.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has called for evidence on whether the deal could lead to “a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services” and so would require a full investigation.

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Panera to adopt palm-reading payment systems, sparking privacy fears

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Bakery is first restaurant chain to use Amazon One biometric technology, which faces scrutiny from lawmakers and activists

The US bakery and cafe chain Panera will soon allow customers to pay with the swipe of a palm, marking the first restaurant chain to implement the new technology and raising alarm among privacy advocates.

The company announced last week it would roll out biometric readers in coming months that will allow customers to access credit card and loyalty account information by scanning their palms. Called Amazon One, the system was developed by Amazon and is in use at some airports, stadiums and Whole Foods grocery stores.

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Amazon UK staff plan more strikes as they reject pay rise as an ‘insult’

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Online retailer has increased minimum hourly pay for warehouse workers by 50p an hour to £11

Amazon workers in the UK are planning further strike action as they dismissed as “an insult” a 50p an hour increase to its minimum hourly pay for warehouse workers to £11.

The company said the pay rise announced on Wednesday, which will be implemented this weekend, meant minimum pay had risen by 10% in the past seven months, putting it ahead of the legal minimum wage for those aged 23 or over, which will be £10.42 an hour from April.

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Ikea Foundation sends shelters to Syria and Turkey as firms offer earthquake aid

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First relief housing units arrive in Hatay province, Amazon sends food and blankets and Allianz donates €6m

The Ikea Foundation has sent 5,000 flatpack shelters to southern Turkey and northern Syria to house people left homeless by the earthquake last week, as companies around the world pledge help.

The Swedish homeware multinational’s philanthropy arm said on Tuesday it had donated €10m (£8.8m) to the NGO Better Shelter, with which it developed the robust, award-winning 17.5 sq metre shelters that fit in two boxes and can be assembled without tools.

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First UK industrial action against Amazon is ‘making an impact’, says GMB

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Managers said to be covering for striking staff, though firm insists action has not disrupted activity

Workers at Amazon’s huge Coventry depot described the “stressful” conditions inside as they staged a historic strike to demand pay of £15 an hour – the first time the corporation has faced industrial action in the UK.

The local GMB organiser Amanda Gearing said the action on Wednesday was “making an impact”, despite Amazon’s insistence that work was proceeding as usual inside the high-walled warehouse.

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Microsoft to cut 10,000 jobs in March as tech firms, including Amazon, thin ranks

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Sector reacts to post-pandemic shift in digital spending and gloomy economic outlook for 2023

Microsoft is cutting 10,000 jobs as it cited a post-pandemic shift in digital spending habits and weakness in the global economy.

The tech group joined a list of US peers making extensive job cuts, including Facebook owner Meta, Amazon, and business software-maker Salesforce, who have scaled back on workforce expansions stoked by a pandemic-related boom in demand for their services and products that have lost momentum.

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Amazon to axe 18,000 jobs citing economic uncertainty

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Amazon chief points to company’s rapid hiring in recent years while saying layoffs mainly to hit its brick-and-mortar stores

Amazon has announced it will cut more than 18,000 jobs from its workforce – the largest set of layoffs in the US company’s history – while business software maker Salesforce is to cut 8,000 workers in the latest purge of tech jobs.

Amazon cited “the uncertain economy” and said the e-commerce giant had “hired rapidly over the last several years” in making the announcement on Wednesday.

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Amazon agrees deal with Games Workshop to create Warhammer TV series

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Former Superman star Henry Cavill linked to project, and agreement includes film and merchandise plans

Amazon has struck a deal with the high street games chain Games Workshop to create a series based on its hit franchise Warhammer, the science-fiction fantasy miniature war game, potentially featuring the former Superman star Henry Cavill.

The London-listed Games Workshop, which has a £2.7bn market value and runs about 530 stores, has struck a deal with Amazon to develop the company’s intellectual property into film and TV productions as well as sell merchandise.

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Amazon’s UK tax bill could rise by £29m amid business rates overhaul

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Hikes set to hit warehouses and online retailers hardest in 2023 as UK government addresses ‘brick v clicks’ tax gap

Amazon’s UK tax bill jump could jump by £29m next year as a result of changes to business rates that are scheduled to hit warehouses and online retailers the hardest.

The online retailer is likely to be among firms facing big tax rises following the chancellor’s autumn statement, according to analysis from the real estate adviser Altus Group.

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Workers at Amazon’s largest air hub in the world push to form a union

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Employees at the company’s hub outside Cincinnati Northern Kentucky international airport are now mobilizing

Amazon workers at the air hub outside the Cincinnati Northern Kentucky international airport, Amazon’s largest air hub in the world, are pushing to organize a union in the latest effort to mobilize workers at the tech company.

Workers say they are dissatisfied with annual wage increases this year. About 400 of them have signed a petition to reinstate a premium hourly pay for Amazon’s peak season that hasn’t been enacted at the site yet. Their main demands also include a $30 an hour starting wage, 180 hours of paid time off and union representation at disciplinary hearings.

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