Amazon Layoffs Not AI-Related, Reddit Health Insurance Advice, an Ad Lift from Louvre Heist

Hey everybody, it's Gene Marks, and welcome to this week's episode of the Paychex THRIVE Week in Review. This is where we take a few items out of the news and we see how it impacts your small business and mine, and we talk about it just a little bit. So, let's get going.

The first big news that occurred during this week has to do with layoffs. Lots of big companies are laying off lots of people. This is a report from Yahoo Finance. Thousands of workers are falling victim to job cuts at Amazon, UPS, Nestle and other large companies.

In an economy defined by uncertainty, AI, and global tensions, Amazon said in a message to its employees Tuesday that it would reduce its corporate workforce by approximately 14,000 roles. The announcement raised the question, was it a signal that workers were being replaced by emerging technology that is threatened to make them obsolete?

Andy Jassy, the CEO of Amazon, said the workforce reduction was not really financially driven and it's not even really AI driven. Not right now, at least. He says it's culture. “If you grow as fast as we did for several years, the size of businesses, the number of people, the number of locations, the types of businesses you're in, you end up with a lot more people than you had before and you end up with a lot more layers.”

And you know what? I think Jassy is right. I'm working on a piece for The Hill all about this one issue, and I'm not so sure that AI is the primary reason that's driving a lot of these layouts. I do agree that this technology as it's growing is providing some productivity benefits, but not the kind of benefits that would see tens of thousands of workers to be laid off, at least not yet.

I do believe that a lot of companies have over expanded. A lot of companies are being more productive. A lot of companies are looking at different ways to cut their costs and, you know, they're cutting headcount, and I guess trimming the fat.

Should we be doing that at our small businesses? Probably not, because most small businesses are still looking for good people. But you know what? This kind of thing does provide an opportunity for us as business owners to snap up some good talent. Those 14,000 people being laid off by Amazon, let's not forget they were hired by Amazon for a reason. I'm sure they were good and talented people that just doesn't have a role there anymore. Doesn't mean they don't have a role at your business and mine. So, it could be an opportunity for us as business owners.

Hey, let's take a quick pause to share something that could save you some serious time and money. Even with the news of Amazon cuts, other businesses will be beefing up staff to deal with the holiday rush. Those additions to payroll can add more time to your administrative tasks and stress.

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We talked about Amazon job cuts. Let's also talk about another challenge facing small business owners this year. Healthcare costs. They are expected to arrive another 9 to 9.5% in 2026 after equal percentage raises in the past two years. There are a lot of different ways that people can manage health care costs, but a report in Techedia.com talks about how many business owners are going to places like Reddit for small business health insurance recommendations. Here's what the report says.

Owners are increasingly turning to community threads like Reddit small business health insurance recommendations to share experiences, compare plans, and help one another navigate the maze of policies, premiums, and regulations that makes health benefits such a complicated puzzle. What makes Reddit unique is that it provides unfiltered, firsthand accounts of small business owners talking directly to each other without a sales agenda. This grassroots exchange of ideas is helping shape how entrepreneurs evaluate and select health insurance plans that fit their budgets and values.

Now, on the one side, you’ve got to be very, very careful. If you're going to go to Reddit or another online forum like a Facebook group or a LinkedIn group and ask fellow small business owners about your health insurance, just be aware that no one's really an expert. You're going to be getting advice, and in the end, you do want to value what they're saying and compare it and ask your experts about it.

But I got to tell you, it's a great idea. I myself have gotten ideas about, I like to write and talk about ways that small business owners can control their health care costs, and I’m like, of course, why not go to Reddit's forum? By the way, it's the Small Business Health Insurance Recommendations subreddit. That way I'm going take a look at it myself and see what advice I can get for my business and also what advice after I verify it, so can maybe share with my readers and my audience.

So, I like it. I like getting advice from other business owners on issues that are impacting their businesses because clearly they're impacting yours.

One final story today is a fun story. You remember, the recent robbery that occurred at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Well, one German firm is taking advantage of that robbery. Here we go. This is from The Guardian. A family run German business unwittingly became wrapped up in the crown jewel heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris and is turning the use of one of its furniture lifts into a publicity coup.

“When you need to move fast” is the new tongue-in-cheek advertising tagline for the company Bocker, which is based in the town of Werne near Dortmund, and a campaign on Facebook and Instagram mounted within a day of the brazen thefts. The posts feature a picture of the now world famous Agilo furniture elevator that the thieves used to gain entry to the museum through a window, grab an estimated $76 million pounds – that's about $100 million worth of Napoleonic jewelry – and in less than 10 minutes, escape with loot on motorbikes.

Is it Igle or a Jillo? A-G-I-L-O. The device, which inclined ladders seen in press photos, reaching to the first four balcony can carry all that stuff in as quiet as a whisper. The company's marketing chief, Julia Schwartz, said she and her husband – the family's third generation chief executive – were reading the news online together on Sunday when they were shocked to see the picture from the dramatic robbery at the French Museum showing one of their products.

“It became clear to us, my goodness, this is a reprehensible act, and they misused our device to do it. But after it was apparent that no one had been hurt, we started making a few jokes and putting our heads together on slogans we found funny.”

A great idea from a family-owned business in Germany taking advantage of something that's in the news and turning it into a nice tongue-in-cheek marketing campaign. I like it and should be something that we should all consider for our small businesses.

That's the news from this week. You've been watching the Paychex THRIVE Week in Review, and my name is Gene Marks. Thank you very much for joining us. We'll be back next week with a few more items in the news that impact your small business and mine and a few thoughts about that news. Thanks for watching or listening. We'll see you then.

Do you have a topic or a guest that you would like to hear on THRIVE? Please let us know. Visit payx.me/thrivetopics and send us your ideas or matters of interest. Also, if your business is looking to simplify your HR payroll benefits or insurance services, see how Paychex can help. Visit the resource hub at paychex.com/worx. That's W-O-R-X. Paychex can help manage those complexities while you focus on all the ways you want your business to thrive.

I'm your host, Gene Marks, and thanks for joining us.

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