Jeff Bezos, the Founder of Amazon, was seen cautioning people regarding a foreseen recession in the United States. Recently, he sat down for an exclusive interview with CNN's Entertainment reporter Chloe Melas at Bezos' Washington DC home. In this interview, Bezos shared his views on the possible recession that might hit the US very soon.
Last month, Bezos tweeted a warning to his followers, stating that the current global economy is telling people to “batten down the hatches.”
Yep, the probabilities in this economy tell you to batten down the hatches. https://t.co/SwldRdms5v
October 18, 2022When asked about this in the aforementioned interview, Bezos claimed that everybody, whether it's an individual or a company, needs to slow down with their purchases. He advises people to postpone purchases “keep that cash” and “see what happens.”
Also Read: Meta To Lay Off 11,000 As Big Tech Pain Deepens
While talking about the possibility of a recession, Bezos, who sat down alongside his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez, claimed that there are high probabilities that if the US isn't already in a recession at the moment, it is likely to be in one very soon.
Talking about the current state of the global economy, Bezos said, “What I can tell you is the economy does not look great right now.” Addressing the ongoing layoffs in several sectors, Bezos told Melas, “Things are slowing down. You're seeing layoffs in many, many sectors of the economy. People are slowing down.”
To be prepared for foreseen US recession, the Amazon Founder advised consumers to “slow down” and postpone making any big purchases such as buying new homes, cars, television sets, home appliances and more. This advice was given in light of the fact that household debt has gone up to a whopping $16.5 trillion in the US, leaving a majority of Americans to rely on credit to make such purchases or even make ends meet.
At the same time, Bezos also advised individuals as well as small business owners to “take some risk off the table”. Bezos suggested that small business owners should refrain from making capital purchases, or buying any new appliances or pieces of equipment at the moment. Instead, Bezos' advice to the Americans is, “hold onto your money, and see what transpires.”
The e-commerce giant founder also urged people to keep some “dry powder” in hand, in case they're forced to deal with an eventual economic downturn leading to the US recession. In his words, “Just a little bit of risk reduction could make the difference.”
In this interview, Bezos also told Melas that he plans to give away a majority of his wealth during his lifetime.
Notably, according to a recent New York Times report, following companies like Twitter and Meta, Amazon is also planning to dismiss around 10,000 employees in the corporate and technology departments starting as soon as this week. This cut is claimed to be one of the largest layoffs in the history of Amazon.
According to the report, this Amazon cut will mostly focus on the e-commerce giant's devices unit. This unit houses voice-assistant Alexa, as well as its retail division and human resources department. However, the company hasn't given any immediate comments on the above-mentioned layoffs.
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