(The Hill) — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos urges Americans to wait on making big-ticket purchases ahead of the holiday shopping season amid growing concerns of a possible economic recession.
During a sitdown interview with CNN, Bezos told CNN Entertainment reporter Chloe Melas that he advises consumers to slow down on huge purchases such as new vehicles, televisions, and appliances during this time period, noting that consumers should save some “dry powder” in case of an eventual economic downturn.
“What I can tell you is the economy does not look great right now,” Bezos, who was alongside his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez, told Melas in the sit-down interview that aired Monday. “Things are slowing down. You’re seeing lay-offs in many, many sectors of the economy, people are slowing down.”
“The probabilities, say, if we’re not in a recession right now, we’re likely to be in one very soon,” Bezos added. “So my advice to people, whether they’re small business owners or, you know — is take some risk off the table. If you were going to make a purchase, maybe slow down that purchase a little bit. Keep some dry powder on hand.”
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Bezos, who also founded Aerospace company Blue Origin, also told Melas that the probability of an eventual economic downturn in the future makes this the best time for consumers to save money.
“Take some risk off the table,” Bezos said. “Just a little bit of risk reduction could make the difference.”
Bezos’s remarks come after the New York Times reported on Monday that Amazon is planning to lay off approximately 10,000 employees within its technology and corporate departments this week, in what is expected to be the largest set of layoffs in the company’s history.
Amazon follows other U.S.-based tech giants such as Meta and Twitter in announcing layoffs.
Bezos also told Melas that he plans to give away a majority of his wealth during his lifetime, noting that he and Sanchez are currently building the capacity to do it.
“The hard part is figuring out how to do it in a levered way,” Bezos said. “It’s not easy. Building Amazon was not easy. It took a lot of hard work and very smart teammates. And I’m finding – and Lauren’s finding – that philanthropy is very similar. It’s not easy. It’s really hard.”