When Uniqlo’s founder said he wanted the business to be the biggest fashion retailer in the world, it seemed fanciful. After its latest results, maybe he might get there.
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Jeff Bezos explains why Amazon is still cutting jobs
For tech workers, Amazon’s (AMZN) latest round of layoffs is a stark reminder that strong company growth does not always translate into job security.
The company has continued to grow its sales and invest heavily in its biggest strategic priorities, but it is also still cutting corporate roles. That tension is now being explained, at least in part, by Jeff Bezos, who says Amazon’s workforce ballooned during the Covid pandemic as consumers shifted dramatically toward online shopping.
In essence, he’s saying that Amazon hired for an extraordinary moment, and some of that structure is still being unwound.
It’s important to note that Amazon’s cuts are happening alongside huge spending on new technology, but they also reflect a company trying to undo layers built during a period of unusually rapid expansion.
For employees, the bigger message may be uncomfortable: Even profitable, growing companies are becoming far more selective about where people still fit.
Bezos points to pandemic hiring as Amazon keeps cutting jobs
Bezos, now Amazon’s founder and executive chairman, was quizzed about the nearly 30,000 corporate cuts during a Fox News interview with Bret Baier.
Putting it bluntly, he said Amazon expanded dramatically when Covid changed shopping behavior.
“People were staying home and they were ordering,” Bezos said, adding that “we really grew our head count.”
These comments come just after Amazon announced a fresh round of cuts on Oct. 7, primarily inside its Stores business, which oversees the core e-commerce operation, as reported by Reuters.
Fewer than 1,000 white-collar employees were affected, with workers in the U.S., India, and U.K. among those losing jobs, with the cuts landing during Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days promotion.
Comparatively, the new round is small, compared to nearly 30,000 corporate positions being eliminated between October 2025 and January 2026. Amazon told Reuters the newest changes were intended to better align Stores with its priorities.
That said, this story isn’t about a business collapsing. Amazon reported Q2 2026 revenue of $200.6 billion, up 20%, while AWS sales jumped 37%.
Amazon’s total full- and part-time workforce was about 1.595 million at the end of Q2, actually 3% higher than a year earlier.
Jeff Bezos says Amazon’s pandemic hiring surge still shapes today’s job cuts.Shea Kastriner / Getty Images
Is the pandemic overhiring explanation credible?
For the most part, Bezos’ comments seem to hold true.
Amazon had about 798,000 employees at the end of 2019, based on an SEC Filing, immediately before Covid. By the end of 2020, that had exploded to 1.298 million, an increase of roughly 500,000 people, or 63%, in one year, as mentioned in an SEC Filing.
By the end of 2021, Amazon employed 1.608 million people. In other words, its workforce had effectively doubled in two years, adding about 810,000 employees from the pre-pandemic level, the SEC Filing confirmed.
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So “pandemic overhiring” is not some retroactive corporate talking point invented to justify layoffs. There was, in fact, an extraordinary hiring event.
However, the big caveat I see is that much of that pandemic expansion involved fulfillment centers, logistics, and delivery infrastructure, whereas many of the 2025-26 cuts have targeted corporate white-collar roles.
And Amazon still employed 1.576 million people at the end of 2025 and 1.595 million at Q2 2026 the SEC Filing indicated.
So Amazon has not unwound its pandemic workforce expansion overall. Rather, it appears to be changing the composition of that workforce.
Amazon’s layoffs are less about one culprit and more about a workforce reset
Amazon’s latest job cuts fit a much bigger pattern.
The company has been steadily stripping out corporate layers since late 2025, but simultaneously directing extraordinary amounts of capital toward AWS, AI infrastructure, custom chips, and automation.
The scale of that reset is significant.
Amazon cut about 14,000 corporate roles in October 2025, followed by roughly 16,000 more in January 2026 across businesses including AWS, Alexa, Prime Video, and advertising. Smaller reductions continued afterward, even inside Amazon’s own artificial-general-intelligence organization.
To me, that last point matters because it shows the company is not simply replacing non-AI workers with AI workers. It is continuously reshaping where people and money generate the highest return.
At the same time, Amazon raised its planned 2026 capital spending toward $220 billion, as reported by Reuters, much of it tied to data centers, compute, memory, and AI chips. Amazon itself said rising property and equipment spending “primarily reflects investments in artificial intelligence.”
Big Tech is following a similar playbook.
Microsoft (MSFT) has cut thousands of jobs as it pours money into AI infrastructure, and Meta Platforms (META) reportedly reconsidered some broader workforce reductions after AI tools failed to deliver the productivity gains initially expected.
So a better conclusion is that pandemic-era overhiring created room to cut, while AI is changing how many people companies believe they will need going forward.
The labor data support that nuance, whereby economy-wide AI displacement remains limited, but younger workers in highly exposed occupations are already seeing weaker hiring.
What Amazon layoffs really signal for tech workers
So far, I’d argue that the evidence suggests experienced engineers, managers, and specialists are not disappearing en masse.
The greater near-term danger appears to be for junior white-collar workers, routine corporate functions, and jobs whose tasks can be broken into repeatable pieces that AI agents can increasingly perform.
At the same time, companies are competing aggressively for employees who can build AI infrastructure, design chips, run data centers, deploy models, manage AI products, and combine domain expertise with the new tools.
That creates a strange labor market where companies can cut thousands of jobs as they complain that they cannot hire enough people with the skills they need.
It’s why I think Bezos’ comments are useful but shouldn’t become the entire thesis.
His pandemic overhiring explanation is supported by Amazon’s extraordinary headcount expansion. But Amazon’s own CEO has also told workers that AI will reduce corporate employment.
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Is Costco open on Columbus Day?
As a working mom, surprise days off from school are nothing short of a nightmare. So earlier this year, I did the smart thing and marked every closure off on my calendar ahead of time.
That still didn’t stop the “oh, darn” that slipped out of my mouth when I looked at the week of Oct. 12 and realized my kids didn’t have school on Columbus Day. (Okay, and if I’m being totally truthful, I didn’t say “oh, darn,” but rather, something a little more…colorful.)
The tricky thing about Columbus Day is that it’s one of those “iffy” days where things could be closed, but not necessarily.
My husband, for example, doesn’t have the day off, and neither do many people I know. At the same time, there’s no regular mail delivery, and banks in my area are typically closed.
The good news, though, is that most retailers keep their doors open on Columbus Day. And Costco is one of them. So if you’re planning to do a stock-up, you’re not out of luck.
Costco tries to keep closures to a minimum
Costco’s business model is built on membership fees. During the company’s most recent quarter, Costco reported $1.849 billion in membership fee income, up 7.3% from the year prior.
Costco also boasts an impressive 92.3% member renewal rate across the U.S. and Canada.
To keep members happy, Costco has to balance the needs of customers and employees. Disgruntled workers aren’t likely to offer great customer service, which is something Costco is known for.
Costco has to do its best to close its doors when appropriate to give workers a break and time with family while also making sure it’s staying open frequently enough to serve members when they need to shop.
Plus, any day Costco closes that a competitor doesn’t, the company risks lost revenue. It’s as simple as that. So even if Costco would prefer to close more often, it’s not a smart business decision.
Image source: Shutterstock
Costco only closes seven times a year
While schools may be closed on Columbus Day, Costco won’t be. Not only is the store open, but shoppers can expect regular operating hours.
Costco only closes for seven holidays during the year:
New Year’s Day
Easter Sunday
Memorial Day
Independence Day (July 4)
Labor Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas DaySource: Costco.com
Closing on Columbus Day would potentially anger customers, some of whom specifically aim to do their Costco shopping on Mondays to avoid the weekend rush.
And for Costco employees with childcare constraints due to school closures, there’s probably a willingness on the company’s part to work things out.
More Retail:
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Costco makes major investment in online shopping for members
Costco is known for treating its workers well through solid pay and strong benefits, so employees who need time off on Columbus Day may be able to get it with relative ease.
Maurie Backman owns shares of Costco.
Related: Costco adds important new perks for members
Scaling Your Brand in NYC: The Strategic Guide to Taxi Toppers
New York City is arguably the most saturated advertising market on the planet. For a brand to break through the noise, staying bolted to a single wall is no longer enough. Taxi top advertising circumvents the limitations of fixed locations by mobilizing your campaign, driving your message directly through high-traffic shopping districts, financial centers, and entertainment zones.
For businesses looking to capture a moving city, taxi toppers offer a dynamic, high-visibility marketing asset that reaches consumers wherever they are.
The Strategic Advantage of Mobile Real Estate
New York is a city of constant motion, defined by its commuters, pedestrians, and drivers. Taxis naturally infiltrate every corner of this environment, allowing advertisers to place their messaging directly in the daily eyeline of their target market. Instead of hoping your demographic walks past one specific street corner, a single taxi can navigate multiple strategic neighborhoods in a single shift.
This mobility makes taxi advertising highly effective for tech startups, financial services, retail brands, tourism operations, and aggressive product launches that require citywide saturation.
The Technology: Static vs. Digital Toppers
Taxi toppers are rooftop displays engineered to command attention on crowded streets. Understanding the two primary formats is critical to maximizing your campaign’s ROI:
Static Displays: These traditional printed and illuminated panels offer straightforward, “always-on” visibility. Once installed, your message remains fixed throughout the campaign, making it a highly cost-effective choice for long-term brand awareness and evergreen promotions.
Digital LED Displays: Digital toppers offer massive creative agility. Advertisers can rotate multiple creatives, update messaging on the fly, and run time-sensitive campaigns without the friction or cost of printing new physical panels.
Understanding the Economics of the Fleet
Budgeting for a taxi campaign requires looking beyond the initial sticker price. Taxi advertising cost is not one number. Based on published 2026 industry metrics, standard static taxi-top advertising typically costs between $100 and $500 per vehicle for a four-week period. Digital taxi tops generally range from $120 to $800 per vehicle for the same duration.
However, these figures must be treated as baseline planning ranges. Final New York-specific rates fluctuate based on the provider, production costs, minimum fleet requirements, and installation fees. Because larger campaigns often unlock volume pricing, it is essential to request a comprehensive quote rather than comparing isolated per-taxi rates.
Fleet Sizing and Audience Targeting
Scaling your campaign is not simply about buying as many cars as possible; it is about geographical relevance. Your fleet size should directly mirror your campaign objective.
A targeted campaign aimed at tourists should prioritize fleets operating near hotels, airports, and major attractions. Conversely, a B2B campaign targeting executives must prioritize business-heavy districts. The ultimate goal is to engineer enough visual repetition for immediate brand recognition, without burning capital in neighborhoods that are irrelevant to your demographic.
Engineering a High-Converting Design
Taxi advertisements must communicate value in seconds. Pedestrians and drivers only have a brief window to process your information as the vehicle moves through traffic.
A high-converting taxi ad requires bold branding, a brutally short headline, an instantly recognizable visual, and a frictionless call to action. That is the same constraint as writing a line someone can act on in one pass. Overcrowding the display with text guarantees your message will be ignored. While digital toppers can utilize motion to grab attention, the core message must remain immediately understandable in a single glance.
While traditional billboards provide monumental visibility from a fixed location, taxi advertising physically brings your brand to the consumer.
For growth-focused businesses, the most dominant strategy is often omnichannel: combining the broad, mobile reach of taxi fleets with the anchored weight of traditional outdoor media to create an inescapable presence across the everyday New York experience.
The post Scaling Your Brand in NYC: The Strategic Guide to Taxi Toppers appeared first on Addicted 2 Success.
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