Amazon let customers know on Tuesday they can no longer rent or buy books or pay for Kindle Unlimited subscriptions using the Kindle app. In an email, the company explained people will have to pay for the digital content on a web browser and then access the books through their app’s digital library.  The change …

Amazon’s shareholders have rejected a nonbinding proposal that called on the company to abandon warehouse productivity practices blamed for high injury rates, even as the company faces a growing unionization push. Also rejected at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday: another proposal calling for an independent audit of working conditions at the company’s warehouses. Brought by Amazon warehouse worker …

Amazon recently fired workers and managers at a Staten Island warehouse that voted to unionize — dismissals that come as a labor regulator found merit in allegations the e-commerce giant’s anti-union tactics broke the law.  Tristan Dutchin was told he was fired for missing productivity targets, as reported earlier by Motherboard. Mat Cusick was told he was dismissed for “job …

Amazon sued a Hong Kong-based company it accuses of connecting third-party retailers to customers willing to write positive reviews for discounts, the company said Friday, part of its effort to crackdown on fraud that plagues the giant e-tailer. In two separate lawsuits, Amazon asks courts to close the operations of the company, called Extreme Rebate, the company said. It also …

What’s happening Amazon workers voted not to join the Amazon Labor Union in an election tallied Monday. Why it matters It’s part of a larger organizing effort at Amazon, which saw another Staten Island warehouse vote to unionize earlier this year. What’s next The union says it will keep organizing at the warehouse and other Amazon facilities. Amazon workers voted …

What’s happening Amazon’s profits fell during the first quarter of 2022 in the wake of increasing costs. Why it matters It’s another sign online shopping is waning as pandemic restrictions ease. What’s next Amazon will likely look for ways to cut costs and use its network of warehouses and trucking fleet more efficiently. Amazon swung to a loss in the …

People with hearing loss can now pair their hearing aids with the Amazon Fire TV Cube streaming device, improving the experience of watching their favorite TV shows. The Fire TV Cube, now in its second generation, is the first streaming device from a US tech company that can turn a hearing aid into a Bluetooth headphone that’s calibrated to an …

Whole Foods Market shoppers in Austin, Texas, soon won’t need to pull out payment cards at the cash register, Amazon said Tuesday. The company will roll out its Amazon One palm-scanning technology to let customers pay with a wave of their hands at one store in Austin, and it’ll add six more stores in the region soon after. The system, …

Amazon is hiring a law firm to review how the company’s policies affect racial equity in its hourly workforce, the company said in a statement to shareholders Thursday. The audit will be led by former US Attorney General Loretta Lynch and will become public once it’s completed.  “The focus of the audit will be to evaluate any disparate racial impacts …

Thousands of Etsy sellers are criticizing the company for increasing fees that they must pay with each sale. The increase from 5% to 6.5% of sales started Monday, which prompted Etsy seller Kristi Cassidy to call for sellers to close their online stores and customers to stop buying on the platform for one week.  More than 15,000 people have signed …