How the layoffs are landing at Amazon | Wyze Cam’s $10K treasure hunt

Amazon this week became the latest tech giant to make layoffs, but the manner in which the plan unfolded left some employees scratching their heads, at best.

• The reaction was a mix of frustration, fear, uncertainty, and acceptance, as GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser discovered when he visited the Amazon campus. He shares what he saw and heard on a new episode of the GeekWire Podcast.

• Also on the show: the impact of the downturn on high-tech real estate brokerage Redfin; and thoughts on the potential for Jeff Bezos and Jay-Z to team up as NFL owners. 

Read more and listen here, and subscribe to GeekWire in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen. We publish new episodes every Saturday morning. 

Share your perspective for next week’s show: What are you thankful for in tech? Is there a technology that has changed your life, your job, or your company for the better this year? Or a trend in the economy or the industry that you’re especially grateful to see? Send an email message or a voice memo with your thoughts to podcast@geekwire.com.

Amazon and Washington’s attorney general reached an agreement on criminal background check notices for Flex drivers.

• Amazon has made voluntary changes to its app for Flex delivery drivers in accordance with a Washington state law designed to provide a more level playing field for job applicants with criminal records, a new court filing shows.

To celebrate its five-year anniversary, Seattle-area smart-home device maker Wyze Labs recently hosted a $10,000 public treasure hunt.

• A custom “golden” Wyze camera was buried at a secret location that would be live-streamed while a series of cryptic, coded clues were released throughout the week, slowly revealing where the stash was hidden. At least, that was the plan. The way things played out was a little different.

The collapse of FTX is impacting people across the Pacific Northwest.  

• NPR interviewed an architect from the Seattle area who lost $30,000 and a tech worker in Portland who lost $70,000 amid the cryptocurrency exchange crash. Read the story.