Today marks the last day of Amazon’s first Big Spring Sale, which kicked off last Wednesday. It was an opportunity for shoppers to grab their spring essentials on the cheap, and in the face of increased e-commerce competition from upstarts such as Temu, a chance for Amazon to reaffirm its position as the top dog.
Grab what you can at the last minute—but first, take a look at what else is happening in retail this week.
In layoffs: At the start of the year, UPS announced 12,000 layoffs, along with decreased package volume in Q4 2023. On Tuesday, a closure of daytime sortation shifts at a facility in Halethorpe, Maryland, will affect 118 employees, according to Supply Chain Dive.
- A company spokesperson said a facility in Portland, Oregon, will end its day shifts on Thursday, but didn’t clarify how many employees it would affect.
- The 12,000 layoffs are expected to save UPS roughly $1 billion.
- The company’s Q4 revenue declined 7.8% YoY.
In the rumor mill: Last month, Apple released its Vision Pro VR headset, and now it’s looking to keep the ball rolling with new iPad models. Last week, Chinese blog Instant Digital reported that Apple would be making the announcement on Tuesday, but Bloomberg Chief Correspondent Mark Gurman said on X that the rumor is “not true.”
- The possible forthcoming announcement also comes on the heels of CEO Tim Cook’s visit to China last week, when a new Apple store opened in Shanghai. Sales of the company’s flagship product, the iPhone, have struggled in China, in part due to increased local competition.
In earnings: On Thursday, Walgreens will report its earnings for what’s been a bit of a tumultuous time for the pharmacy chain. In October, the company brought on a new CEO, and last Monday confirmed it would be closing distribution centers in Florida and Connecticut, affecting more than 600 employees.
- The company has been trying to free up cash since earlier in the year after CEO Tim Wentworth took over, and in January announced plans to cut its dividend by 48%.
“We are focused on aligning our operational structure to best serve our patients and customers,” the company said last week. “This includes an evaluation of our distribution center operations in order to streamline capacities to best support our stores.”