Amazon, UPS And Intel Lead The Way With Layoffs: Consumer Confidence Takes A Beating As Thousands Of Jobs Face The Ax
Recent layoffs at major U.S. companies, including UPS (48,000 jobs), Amazon (30,000 jobs), and Intel (20,000 jobs), indicate a weakening labor market. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell to 94.6 in October, reflecting growing consumer caution regarding job availability. This trend may lead to further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Despite layoffs, Amazon's stock rose 1% to $229.25, showing strong momentum and growth potential.
There has been a surge in layoffs across leading U.S.-based companies in recent weeks, signaling growing stress and cracks in the domestic labor market.
Labor Market Shows Cracks
On Tuesday, in a post on X, The Kobeissi Letter highlighted a string of recent layoff announcements by some of the largest employers in the country.
Leading the way is United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE:UPS), which said that it had reduced its workforce by 48,000 roles this year, surpassing its earlier estimates of 20,000 job cuts.
This is followed by Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), announcing 30,000 job cuts, or 10% of its workforce, earlier this week, making it the largest layoff in its history.
Chipmaker Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) has similarly announced major job cuts, impacting over 20,000 employees, as part of its restructuring efforts.
Several other companies across industries have announced major job cuts in recent weeks, including major tech names such as Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) and Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META), which have cut 7,000, 4000 and 600 positions, respectively.
The post concluded by saying that “The labor market is clearly weakening.”
Consumer Confidence Slips Amid A Tough Job Market
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index slipped by 1 point in October, to 94.6, compared to 95.6 in September.
Consumers have also turned increasingly cautious on the job market, with just 15.8% of those surveyed saying that they expect more jobs to the available going forward, down from 16.6% in September. Similarly, 27.8% of respondents anticipated fewer jobs, up from 25.7%.
These reports are expected to prompt further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve during the Federal Open Market Committee Meeting this week.
Amazon shares were up 1% on Tuesday, closing at $229.25, and are down 0.03% overnight. The stock scores high on Momentum and Growth in Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, with a favorable price trend in the short, medium and long terms. Click here for deeper insights on the stock, its peers and competitors.
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