Amazon Plans Largest Workforce Layoffs in History as AI Reshapes Corporate Workforce

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October 28, 2025

Amazon is planning to eliminate sweeping job cuts beginning Tuesday, according to Reuters reports.

The e-commerce giant has announced a decision to cut up to 30,000 positions, about 10% of its roughly 350,000 corporate employees, though they represent a small fraction of its total 1.55 million global workforce.

Amazon has been working to pare expenses after a big hiring surge during the pandemic to a peak in demand. The layoffs will affect employees across divisions, including logistics and Human Resources.

This follows previous reductions totaling around 27,000 jobs in 2022-2023 and is attributed to cost-cutting measures, over-hiring during the pandemic, and investments in AI and automation.

Amazon has been reducing its headcount through smaller, targeted rounds of layoffs this year, as CEO Andy Jassy had earlier stated on the need to curtail costs and reduce bureaucracy/middle management layers. He also warned that generative AI will likely lead to a smaller workforce.

Part of Jassy’s internal memo says,

“We’re using Generative AI broadly across our internal operations. In our fulfillment network, we’re using AI to improve inventory placement, demand forecasting, and the efficiency of our robots—all of which have improved cost to serve and delivery speed. We’ve rebuilt our Customer Service Chatbot with GenAI, providing an even better experience than we’d had before. And, we’re assembling more intelligent and compelling product detail pages by leveraging GenAI.

“We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs. It’s hard to know exactly where this nets out over time, but in the next few years, we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company.”

He further urged employees to “be curious about AI, attend workshops, take trainings, and experiment with AI whenever they can. Jassy believes that agentic AI is going to change the scope and speed at which the company can innovate for customers.

The company last week unveiled a new artificial intelligence-powered shopping assistant called “Help Me Decide,” designed to make product selection easier for customers who struggle to choose between similar items. The new tool leverages AI to deliver personalized product recommendations based on each shopper’s browsing history, searches, and past purchases.

Amazon reportedly has over 1,000 generative-AI services and applications in progress or already built. The e-commerce giant has disclosed plans to make it much easier to build agents and then build (or partner) on several new agents across all of our business units and G&A areas.

The recent planned layoffs at the company would also represent the biggest job cuts across the tech industry since at least 2020, according to Layoffs. fyi. As of Monday, more than 200 tech companies have laid off approximately 98,000 employees since the start of the year, according to the site, which monitors job cuts in the tech sector.

Microsoft has laid off about 15,000 people so far this year, while Meta last week eliminated roughly 600 jobs within its artificial intelligence unit. Google cut more than 100 design-related roles in its cloud unit earlier this month, and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said in September the company laid off 4,000 customer support staffers, pointing to its increasing AI adoption as a catalyst behind the cuts. Intel’s cuts this year totaled 22,000 jobs, the most of any listed by Layoffs. fyi.

Notably, this round of layoffs across companies reflects a broader trend in tech and business, where companies are adopting AI/automation more aggressively, which is leading to a rethinking of hiring, roles, and structure. For employees, particularly white-collar workers in roles that can be automated or streamlined by AI agents, there may be increased pressure to upskill, shift into new responsibilities, or face role redundancy.

From a business perspective, for companies, this aligns with large investments in AI infrastructure and a desire to operate with lean teams, faster cycles, and overall greater efficiency.

Mt. Gox Extends Creditor Repayment Deadline to October 31, 2026

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Paul Ugbede Godwin

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October 28, 2025

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The defunct Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox has officially delayed its creditor repayment deadline by one year, pushing it from October 31, 2025, to October 31, 2026.

This marks the third postponement in the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, which stem from the infamous 2014 hack that resulted in the loss of approximately 850,000 BTC worth billions today. The announcement was made on October 27, 2025, by rehabilitation trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi, with approval from the Tokyo District Court.

The extension aims to ensure repayments are made “to the extent reasonably practicable” for all eligible creditors, addressing ongoing challenges such as: Incomplete paperwork and verification: Thousands of claims remain unresolved due to missing documentation, KYC issues, or technical glitches in the process.

The trustee needs additional time to verify claims, test systems, and maintain fairness across creditor groups. Rushing could exclude some creditors, so the court prioritized comprehensive coverage over speed.

This isn’t the first hiccup—original deadlines were set for October 31, 2023, then extended to 2024 and now 2025—highlighting the complexities of Japan’s strict bankruptcy laws in a crypto context.

Despite the delays, significant headway has been made: Creditors repaid: Approximately 19,500 out of ~24,000 have received distributions in BTC and BCH (Bitcoin Cash).
Over 107,000 BTC valued at ~$12.3 billion at current prices has been returned since payouts began in 2024.

Mt. Gox still holds ~34,689 BTC, worth roughly $4 billion based on BTC at ~$115,000 as of late October 2025. These funds are secured in trustee-controlled wallets to avoid market dumps. The delay is largely viewed as bullish in the short term.

It removes a potential overhang of ~0.2% of BTC’s total supply from hitting exchanges in 2025, easing sell pressure and potentially stabilizing prices above $114,000 through the year. However, the funds will still enter circulation eventually—likely in 2026, coinciding with post-halving dynamics.

Early recipients paid when BTC was ~$60,000 have seen ~90% gains, while late claimants might benefit if prices rise further. For creditors: Frustration is mounting after 11 years of waiting, with some calling victims the “diamond hands of the decade.”

If you’re an affected creditor, check the official Mt. Gox rehabilitation portal immediately to submit any outstanding docs—there’s now more time, but delays compound losses from opportunity costs.

This saga underscores crypto’s maturation: Mt. Gox once handled 70% of global BTC volume, but its collapse exposed early risks. Recent moves, like Strive Asset Management’s plan to buy $8B in claims, show institutional interest in wrapping up loose ends.

Tax Implications of Mt. Gox Repayments

The tax treatment of Mt. Gox repayments—primarily in Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and cash—varies significantly by jurisdiction, your original cost basis, whether you’ve previously claimed a loss on the 2014 hack, and the specific repayment type like the early Lump-Sum Repayment or Final Repayment.

Repayments are not considered a return of your original BTC due to Japanese civil rehabilitation laws treating them as claims against the estate, not segregated assets, but rather a distribution in satisfaction of those claims.

This often triggers a capital gain or loss calculation based on the fair market value (FMV) at receipt versus your adjusted cost basis (ACB) in the claim. Generally treated as a disposition of your claim, with FMV at receipt as proceeds. No immediate tax on receipt if it’s a return of capital up to basis, but excess is a gain.

Cash portion: Often ordinary income or capital gain, depending on if it includes interest/penalties. Subsequent sale triggers another capital gain/loss using the FMV at receipt as your new basis.

If you deducted the original BTC as a theft/worthless loss (e.g., pre-2018), repayments may require recapturing that as income. Creditors typically receive 20-21% of claims valued at 2014 prices, but current BTC values $115,000 as of Oct 28, 2025 mean many will face gains.

With the deadline now Oct 31, 2026, track your 2025/2026 tax year. Early recipients (2024) report gains then; others later. Tax drag may reduce immediate selling (e.g., HODL for LTCG rates or use loans against BTC). Some creditors sell claims to funds (taxable event).

GameStop Shares Surged Over Social Media Exchange

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Paul Ugbede Godwin

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October 28, 2025

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GameStop ($GME) shares surged 7.7% on October 27, 2025, closing around $23 after hitting intraday highs near $25.28, driven by a viral social media exchange with the White House.

It started when Microsoft announced a remake of Halo: Combat Evolved titled Halo: Campaign Evolved for PlayStation 5, Xbox, and PC in 2026—breaking decades of Xbox exclusivity.

GameStop’s official X account (@GameStop) posted a mock “presidential statement” on October 25, declaring itself the “Neutral Entity” ending the “console wars,” urging fans to “cease hostilities” and enjoy multiplatform gaming.

The White House’s Rapid Response 47 account (@RapidResponse47) amplified it on October 26, joking it was Trump’s “NUMBER 9” war ended. The official @WhiteHouse account then reposted on October 27 with an AI-generated image of President Trump as Master Chief saluting a flawed, 40-star American flag, captioned “Power to the Players”—GameStop’s slogan.

GameStop replied with more memes, including Trump and Master Chief shaking hands. The posts exploded (e.g., White House: 149K likes, 38M+ views), reigniting GME’s meme-stock hype amid its pivot to collectibles (Q2 profit: $168.6M) and $8.7B cash pile.

No formal policy “announcement”—just playful engagement that fueled retail frenzy. Halo: Combat Evolved’s iconic campaign, rebuilt from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5 for a 2026 release on Xbox Series X|S, PC Steam, Xbox app, and PlayStation 5—the first Halo on PlayStation—with day-one Xbox Game Pass support, full crossplay, cross-progression, and Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Visuals & Audio: High-definition 4K visuals with rebuilt environments, alien architecture, and vistas evoking the original’s grandeur. Updated cinematics using new motion-capture animations, based on original storyboards for fidelity.

Remastered soundtrack recreating Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori’s score, plus new sound effects and re-recorded dialogue by the original cast (e.g., Steve Downes as Master Chief, Jen Taylor as Cortana).

Refined controls with sprint (toggleable for classic feel), improved aiming (e.g., ADS on weapons like Assault Rifle and Needler, similar to Halo 5/Infinite), and enhanced precision combat.

All 10 original levels rebuilt with refined designs, better wayfinding/navigation, improved pacing/enemy variety (e.g., overhauled “The Library” Flood encounters and environmental storytelling).

Expanded arsenal: 9 new weapons from later games (Energy Sword, Battle Rifle, Needle Rifle, Fuel Rod Cannon, Sentinel Beam). Vehicles: Hijack enemy rides (Elites can hijack back), pilot Covenant Wraith tanks, 4-Spartan Warthog seating (Warthog less indestructible).

Updated Flood with Halo 3 pure forms. New Content3 prequel missions: Set before Halo: CE, starring Master Chief and Sgt. Avery Johnson with new characters, environments, enemies, and gameplay.

Most Skulls ever in a Halo campaign (e.g., weapon randomizer, Grunt Birthday Party), plus “Campaign Remix” to replay missions with modifiers for randomized elements. Solo, 2-player split-screen co-op (consoles only), or 4-player online co-op.

No competitive multiplayer (focus on campaign; use MCC/Infinite for that). The remake preserves the original story while addressing 25 years of feedback for a “timeless yet brand new” experience.

Halo: Campaign Evolved’s three prequel missions form a brand-new story arc set before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved, starring Master Chief and Sgt. Avery Johnson—marking the first new single-player Halo content in years.

Takes place prior to the Pillar of Autumn’s crash on Installation 04, potentially drawing from The Fall of Reach novel (e.g., events during Reach’s fall or Chief’s escape), bridging gaps in Chief and Johnson’s alliance.

Emphasizes Chief-Johnson interactions, with Johnson as a key ally likely NPC, but co-op speculation exists. Introduces “new characters, enemies, environments, and dangers” to deepen lore without altering the core campaign.

Available from launch not confirmed as unlockable post-campaign; playable solo or in co-op. Exclusive mechanics/enemies not in the original 10 levels; leverages remake upgrades like sprint (toggleable), ADS aiming, vehicle hijacking/piloting (e.g., Wraith), expanded arsenal (Energy Sword, Battle Rifle, etc.), and UE5 visuals.

Co-op Integration supports 2-player split-screen (consoles) or 4-player online with crossplay/progression—ideal for Johnson-focused squad play. Compatible with “Campaign Remix” mode and the most Skulls ever (e.g., weapon randomizer, Grunt Birthday Party).

Names, specific locations, and detailed gameplay remain under wraps—Halo Studios has teased “more info very soon,” with fans speculating Reach-based levels such as space combat, ground defense.

Gavin Newsom Mulls On U.S. Presidential Election in 2028

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Paul Ugbede Godwin

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October 28, 2025

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California Governor Gavin Newsom, a prominent Democratic leader and vocal critic of President Donald Trump’s second term, has publicly confirmed he’s seriously considering a run for the White House in 2028.

In a CBS Sunday Morning interview aired on October 26, 2025, Newsom stated he’d “be lying” if he claimed he wasn’t thinking about it, but emphasized he’d decide after the 2026 midterm elections. This marks his most direct acknowledgment yet, shifting from years of denials where he described his interest as “sub-zero.”

His term ends in January 2027 due to term limits, freeing him up for a national bid. Newsom’s comments come amid heightened speculation fueled by his high-profile clashes with Trump, including challenges to federal military deployments in Los Angeles and pushes to redraw California’s congressional maps to counter Republican efforts in states like Texas.

He’s positioned himself as a “resistance” figure, mocking Trump’s social media style and warning of threats to election integrity—tying into his support for Proposition 50, a ballot measure aimed at safeguarding voting rights. A recent CBS poll showed strong backing: 72% of Democrats and 48% of all registered voters want him to run.

Trump’s 2024 victory over Kamala Harris has left Democrats scrambling for a post-Biden/Harris leader. Newsom, who was a key Biden surrogate in 2024, has surged in visibility by leading Democratic responses to Trump’s agenda on immigration, climate, and redistricting.

Earlier in 2025, Newsom visited South Carolina the potential first Democratic primary state and met with influential figures like Rep. Jim Clyburn, signaling early groundwork. He’s also addressed misconceptions about his “silver spoon” background, emphasizing his single-mother upbringing to broaden appeal.

The field is wide open, with no clear frontrunner. Newsom’s combative style contrasts with more moderate Democrats, but he faces hurdles like perceptions of California as a “failed state” due to homelessness, crime, and high costs—issues Trump allies like JD Vance a likely 2028 GOP contender could weaponize.

A Crowded Democratic PrimaryNewsom isn’t alone in eyeing 2028. Here’s a snapshot of potential rivals based on recent polling and betting markets (e.g., Polymarket odds as of October 2025).

Polymarket aggregated polls from CBS, NYT, and WSJ. Newsom leads early hypotheticals, but a Harris-Newsom showdown could dominate headlines, given their shared California roots. On X, reactions are polarized but intense: Enthusiastic Democrats see him as the “people’s president” who “gets things done,” with posts like “Gavin Newsom 2028? YES” gaining thousands of likes. Parody accounts and fans flood timelines with “Make America California!” memes.

Conservatives mock him as a “Botox-stiffened” “wanna-be” whose state is a “landfill’s asshole,” predicting a rout by Vance. One viral thread called his Trump obsession “creepy” and his run “doomed.”

Prediction markets give only a 6% chance he’ll announce by December 31, 2025, reflecting caution. Broader discourse ties his bid to Democratic urgency, with some urging figures like Obama to re-enter the fray.

Newsom’s net worth ~$30 million from wine and hospitality ventures and family (wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom and four kids) are under new scrutiny, potentially humanizing him but also inviting attacks on “privilege.”

Newsom plans to focus on 2026 midterms, aiming to flip House seats and bolster Democratic turnout. If Republicans hold or expand their narrow majority, it could turbocharge his “meets the moment” narrative. A formal announcement might not come until mid-2027, but his CBS pivot has launched the unofficial campaign.

In a fractured party, Newsom’s blend of charisma, combativeness, and caution positions him as a top contender—but success hinges on proving he can win beyond the coasts. As he put it: “Who the hell knows?” For now, the speculation is louder than ever.

Cross-Domain Automation: Unifying HR, Finance, Dev, and Ops

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TI Partners

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October 28, 2025

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Automation has transformed the way companies operate these days. With so many complexities in each domain, automation came as a necessary solution to mitigate risks prone to human error. It allowed companies to work with precision and save time and effort. With automation, employees have been elevated to a new level where they can bring innovative strategies and creativity to work. The overall efficiency of each department has improved with automation, and companies are currently relying almost completely on it.

But automation is not complete until it becomes cross-domain. Most of the companies today use automation in silos – for each department. HR automates the recruitment process, Finance automates billing and payment cycles, Dev automates building and testing pipelines, and Ops automates deployments. While they help in streamlining each domain, their maximum potential cannot be realized until they work in complete integration with each other. This is where cross-domain automation comes into the picture. It ensures automation of all the departments under one automation layer. This article is specifically aimed at understanding this approach, its benefits, and strategies for its implementation.

Understanding Cross-domain Automation

For any company to work at its highest potential, seamless communication is the key. Now, communication can happen at different levels. Information exchange is the most common form of communication where companies use software like Microsoft Teams or Slack to communicate within the organization.

Another form of communication happens between systems. These are mostly actions that must be triggered at the right stage and time. When done manually, it is dependent on an individual’s decisions, availability, and bandwidth to conduct all the required operations. When done automatically, it streamlines the overall process with the highest efficiency.

But automation is also of two types – domain-specific and cross-domain automation. Companies these days often work in silos. One department’s process is integrated with another’s. A step completed in one department requires another department to follow other processes. Without cross-domain automation, this communication between different departments becomes slow, less efficient, and tedious.

The real potential of a company can be realized when automation is implemented at a collective level. When departments work automatically, within and without, the whole company becomes a self-regulated autonomous system. This has immense benefits, which we will cover in the next section.

Benefits of Cross-domain Automation

A unified automation layer brings a transformation at the organizational level. Its benefits can be realized through the following points:

Breaking Silos: Departments no longer need to work in isolation and wait for their dependencies to be fulfilled by other departments. All functions can trigger and execute the required steps automatically at the right stages and developments of the processes.

Enhancing Agility: Organizations with cross-functional automation work much smoothly, faster, and adapt quickly to the changes. Automation workflows adjust themselves to the new changes introduced in one area.

Improving Precision: For a tech-based organization, precision cannot be compromised. Automation between domains leaves no gap for human error as all the required logic is pre-defined in the automation workflows, which run them flawlessly.
Increasing Visibility: When automation is implemented at an organizational level, the higher authorities get full visibility of all the functions in a single dashboard.

Optimizing processes and costs: With such a holistic visibility, companies can easily optimize their workflows by eliminating unnecessary complexities and loopholes, thereby saving costs and enhancing efficiency of the overall organization.

With so many obvious benefits, automation at a company level is the most effective way to elevate your business from all sides.

Unifying all Domains through Automation

To illustrate cross-domain automation in this article, we will specifically discuss the most important functions in any organization, which are Finance, HR, Dev, and Ops.

HR and Finance

There are many operations in a company that require a fusion between HR and Finance. These are payroll process, reimbursement, and compliance. For finance to release payroll payments, they must get the data from HR software about the employee or contractor’s attendance for a month, along with other records.

Another case includes a new hire in a company. Once they are hired, the HR system must send their bank details, tax information, and benefits enrollment to the finance department for them to calculate their finance. All these data exchanges and communication, when streamlined through pre-defined automation rules, become a self-driven process with high precision and no dependency.

HR and Dev

When a new developer joins a company, provisioning them with the required tools comes under HR’s responsibility. They might need approval for development and testing tools from HR. While the dev team has its own automation tools for internal requirements, e.g., code building automation tools or codeless automation testing tools, installing them needs approval from HR. An integrated automation with HR allows the workflow to grant access to all these tools once the onboarding is approved.

Finance and Ops

The operation team has a lot of expenses that need to be covered by the organization. These may include cloud expenses, software licenses, and infrastructure scaling. Without the integration of Ops with Finance, these expenses become hard to measure at a holistic level. When Finance and Ops are unified automatically, all the expenses become visible in the finance dashboard, which can produce useful insights for senior leadership. Any Ops-related cost exceeding budgets can trigger automated approvals from senior authorities.

DevOps with Finance and HR

Integrating software development and operations is the fastest way to release products, and most companies have already done that under their DevOps teams. But when this is extended to the level of automated integration with HR and Finance, it unlocks a whole new level in the process optimization. Resource allocation can be scheduled according to availability, project planning can be done taking recruits into account, project budgets can be estimated at an organizational level, and many more. The result of such unified automation is an autonomous orchestration between all the departments to crystallize their highest possible benefits.

Closing Reflection

While cross-domain automation can be done through technical experts at the internal level, who are well-versed with all the processes, there are several tools, like MuleSoft, Zapier, or Boomi, that are specifically designed for such cases. To further optimize the automation, AI systems can be integrated that detect redundancies in the workflows and simplify them. The initial stages may be difficult to implement and test but once you are through that stage, you cannot live without it. Once the employees are freed from monotonous and repetitive tasks, they get the bandwidth to work on innovative and creative ideas. The future of automation holds many opportunities for companies to reap, especially through AI, where they can set themselves on a continuous trajectory of evolution.

Amazon Plans Largest Workforce Layoffs in History as AI Reshapes Corporate Workforce

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