Record layoffs at Amazon signal new mindset for sprawling tech giant

• In a memo to employees, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy (above) addressed the 18,000-person layoff and signaled a new mindset at the sprawling tech giant: simplify thyself. GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop analyzed the significant implications for Amazon’s future. Read more. 

A new report commissioned by Challenge Seattle, a coalition of business and tech leaders, says more companies need to help finance and build affordable housing as part of a comprehensive solution to the state’s housing crisis.

• Examples include private companies developing housing themselves, donating or discounting surplus land for non-profit developers or community land trusts, or providing below-market financing or grants to encourage new housing. Read more. 

The magic has run out at a wizard-themed bar, restaurant and wand shop in Seattle, which has closed after only one year.

• The Splintered Wand, which invested heavily in a fantasy theme in an old building in the Ballard neighborhood, posted online that doors were shut effective immediately and all reservations were canceled. Read more.

Ring, the Amazon company best known for its video doorbell, is making the leap to the vehicle dashboard.

• The company's new Car Cam, unveiled Thursday morning, is designed to record video while driving or parked. Read more.

Washington state this week kicked off the implementation of ambitious climate policies: one that caps carbon emissions for fuel suppliers and utilities, and another requiring reductions in the carbon intensity of transportation fuels.

• Gov. Jay Inslee pointed to the synergy between tech innovation and climate policy as a key reason to be optimistic that the state can reach its goals. Read more. 

The FTC released a proposal Thursday banning existing and future non-compete clauses that can restrict workers from taking jobs with a competitor or starting a competing business.

• Supporters of the move say eliminating the agreements will boost employee earnings and spur innovation and entrepreneurship. Read more. 

Tech Moves:

• Former Microsoft and Amazon exec Teresa Carlson joined logistics giant Flexport; Avalara hired IBM veteran Kimberly Deobald as chief revenue officer; and more key personnel changes.  

A cadre of ultra-wealthy individuals, including several from the Pacific Northwest, are issuing millions of dollars in grants to nonprofit organizations working on climate change efforts.

• The Bezos Earth Fund; the Gates Foundation; and MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving topped a list of the largest U.S. grant makers to environmental and climate causes in 2021. Read more.