Amazon logo on the facade of a brick office building with windows, San Francisco, California, August 29, 2025.
Smith Collection | Gad | Archive Photos | Getty Images
This is CNBC’s Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox.
Here are five important things investors need to know to start their trading day.
1. Amazon’s cull
Amazon The company announced this morning that it will lay off 14,000 employees in its latest round of corporate cuts. CNBC’s Annie Palmer reported yesterday that the layoffs are expected to be the biggest in the company’s history. Nearly all businesses are expected to be affected by the cuts, officials said.
Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, said in a blog post that the company needs to become “leaner and more organized” and have fewer hierarchies. Amazon is the second largest private employer in the United States with more than 1.5 million employees. The 14,000 job cuts announced this morning represent about 4% of the company’s corporate and technology workforce.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said earlier this year that the Washington-based company could reduce its workforce by implementing AI. The company is part of a group of large companies whose AI-related productivity is increasing as AI technology becomes more mainstream.
2. Chips on the table
Budrul Cukurt | SOPA Images | Light Rocket | Getty Images
Qualcomm Yesterday, it announced that it would be releasing an artificial intelligence accelerator chip. This initiative opens the company to new competitors. Nvidia and AMDhighlighted the growth of the equipment market related to AI data centers.
Here’s what you need to know:
Qualcomm said the AI200 and AI250 chips will debut in 2026 and 2027, respectively. The data center chip is based on AI components already found in Qualcomm’s smartphone chips. So far, NVIDIA has dominated the AI chip industry, accounting for more than 90% of the graphics processing units (GPUs) on the market. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” this morning that energy efficiency and low operating costs are hallmarks of the company’s products. Qualcomm’s stock price soared. It rose 11% in yesterday’s session, marking the stock’s best day since April. Qualcomm’s rise pushed the entire market to an all-time high yesterday. S&P500 It was the first time in history that the score exceeded 6,800 points. Follow live market updates here.
3. Execute list
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters as U.S. President Donald Trump stands next to him aboard Air Force One on October 27, 2025, en route to Tokyo, Japan for the second stop on his Asian tour.
Evelyn HochsteinReuter
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that five finalists remain to replace Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
The list includes Fed Directors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, former Fed Director Kevin Warsh, and BlackRock’s Rick Rieder. This is the same group of candidates that CNBC reported on earlier this month. President Donald Trump has said he will likely announce his nomination by the end of 2025.
Meanwhile, the Federal Open Market Committee begins a two-day meeting today, with all eyes on interest rate decisions scheduled for tomorrow.
4.Ibuyer
iRobot’s Roomba vacuum cleaner was displayed at a Best Buy store in San Rafael, California on January 19, 2024.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
shares of iRobot Yesterday, the company fell more than 33% after the company warned that its search for a buyer had reached an impasse in its securities filings. The Roomba maker said that negotiations with the last remaining bidder broke down after “protracted and exclusive negotiations” last week.
iRobot has been searching for a buyer for the business since March. The company has been in trouble since Amazon withdrew its takeover offer last year.
5. Party Crasher
Austin Andres and his son Quinn, 2, buy pumpkins at Maple Acres Farm on Tuesday, October 17, 2017, in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania.
Matt Rourke AP
Those looking for pumpkin carving materials and candy this Halloween season will likely be in for sticker shock. Analysis of retail price data shows that these products have increased in price by as much as 300% as tariffs increase costs for suppliers.
Joe Enns, CEO of Signature Brands, Pumpkin Masters’ parent company, told CNBC he hopes shoppers will accept price increases to continue traditions like pumpkin decorating. According to the National Retail Federation, the average consumer is expected to spend a record $114 on Halloween this year.
meanwhile, airbnb wants to spend a quiet Halloween weekend at their rental property. The company said it would use anti-party techniques to quell large gatherings on reservations in the United States and Canada.
daily dividend
In an exclusive interview with CNBC, microsoft Co-founder Bill Gates said climate change is “very important, but it needs to be considered in the context of overall human well-being.”
In a letter released ahead of next week’s United Nations climate summit, Gates wrote that too many resources are being spent on the environment and that more money should be spent on fighting poverty and disease.

—CNBC’s Kiff Lesswing, Jeff Cox, Sean Conlon, Annie Palmer, Lori Ann LaRocco, Jacqueline Korba and Samantha Subin contributed to this report. Josephine Rozzelle edited this version.
