Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is warning people about the coming recession. Bezos asks people to hold onto their expensive purchases, such as buying cars and TVs, to save money.
New Delhi,UPDATED: Nov 21, 2022 2:14 PM IST
By Divya Bhati: Amazon’s Black Friday sale is live, and the e-commerce site is offering new deals and discounts on a variety of products ranging from smartphones to home appliances. Some deals are even available for Indian consumers on the India website. In the midst of all the heavy offers, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is asking people not to buy a TV, fridge or other expensive appliances. Bezos has urged people to hold on to their expensive purchases while warning of the coming recession.
Amazon founder and executive chairman Bezos, in a recent interview with CNN, advised people to save because “the economy doesn’t look good right now.” “Probability says if we’re not in a recession now, we’re probably going to be in it very soon. If you were to make a purchase, you might delay those purchases a little bit,” he said.
Bezos during the interview warned small business owners and people to reduce the risk of a recession by sticking to big purchases like television, cars and other expensive appliances. “If you’re an individual considering buying a big screen TV, maybe slow that down, keep that money and see what happens,” he suggested.
But stopping purchases could also affect Bezos’ Amazon. The company is already facing a decline in sales and inventories have fallen by more than 40 percent due to rising prices and changing customer behavior. But Bezos persists in taking risks and saving some money for worse. “Take some risks off the table,” he said. “A little bit of risk reduction can make all the difference.”
Earlier Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter also pointed to the coming recession and deteriorating situation of the economy. “There will probably be a year or two of severe recession,” he said. “Frankly, the economic picture ahead is bleak, especially for a company like ours that relies so heavily on advertising in a challenging economic climate,” Musk added.
Looking at the current economic situation, the arrival of a recession does not seem far off. In recent weeks, major tech giants including Amazon, Twitter, Meta, Microsoft and Apple have been laying off workers en masse. While Twitter cut nearly 50 percent of its global workforce, Mark Zuckerburg announced plans to cut about 13,000 employees from Meta platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy also confirmed mass layoffs at Amazon in a public post, confirming that the tech giant will be cutting more employees in the coming months
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