A movie poster for the documentary “Melania” featuring First Lady Melania Trump is displayed at a subway station in New York City, USA, on January 14, 2026.
Gina Moon | Reuters
It was a hectic week Amazon.
From a failed email to prematurely announce yet another major layoff to scrutiny over the company’s $75 million investment in a documentary about the first lady, Amazon will report its quarterly earnings next week amid deafening levels of outside noise.
On Saturday, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and the company’s top entertainment executives joined a group of CEOs, politicians and celebrities at the White House for a private screening of “Melania,” produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Melania Trump.
The incident, which occurred just hours after a federal immigration officer shot and killed emergency nurse Alex Preti in Minneapolis, was the second such death in Minneapolis in less than three weeks and was widely criticized as appearing tone-deaf.
While most of the biggest names in the tech industry remained silent on the matter, many in the industry expressed outrage over the incident and encouraged other members of the tech community to publicly condemn Preti’s murder, the recent shooting of Renee Good, and President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
apple CEO Tim Cook, who attended the screening, later issued a statement calling for “de-escalation” in the wake of recent violence, but made no mention of the two fatal shootings. Amazon has not commented on the matter.
Amazon’s relationship with the Melania movie, which officially opened in theaters Friday, was awkward enough given the political tensions in Minneapolis and elsewhere. The pricing raises further questions about Amazon’s plans and whether it is trying to curry favor with the president.
“I had no part in it. That was something I did with my wife,” President Trump told reporters at the film’s premiere in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. “I think this is a very important movie. I think it’s going to be really, really important. It’s about life in the White House. It’s actually a big deal.”
“We licensed this movie for one reason only: because we think our customers will love it,” an Amazon MGM spokesperson said in an email.
Early ticket sales for the documentary have been slow, and the film is expected to gross about $5 million in its opening weekend in the U.S. and Canada, Pac News reported, citing forecast data from the National Research Group.
difficult timing
The timing gets even worse for Amazon, which also agreed to stream a three-part documentary through Prime Video, as the company on Wednesday began a new round of layoffs affecting about 16,000 employees. The company laid off 14,000 employees last October.
The announcement was preempted a day earlier by an offhand email to cloud employees that hinted at “organizational changes” and a post from Amazon’s head of human resources, Beth Galetti.
The job cuts are part of a broader effort by Jassy to cut costs and “cut out bureaucracy” at the company while driving major investments in artificial intelligence. Some employees previously told CNBC that cost-cutting and rolling layoffs have hurt morale.
in reddit On a forum for Amazon employees, some users questioned the rationale for the company’s cash-saving efforts alongside the Melania investment.
“With $75 million, they could have given each fired employee about $4,500,” one user wrote. “But instead I spent my money on a ridiculous Melania movie. It’s embarrassing to work for Amazon.”
Analysts at Citizen this week said they expect Amazon to cut costs by up to $8 billion in 2026 by cutting 30,000 jobs.
In a segment on “The Daily Show” on Thursday, host Desi Riddick called it a “cash grab” and criticized Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos.
“Why would Jeff Bezos, a billionaire with extensive business dealings with a government run by a notoriously corrupt president with a penchant for bribery, overpay for a documentary about Melania Trump,” Riddick said. “Hmm, let me think about it.”
Julie Cohen, a filmmaker who previously worked with Amazon on documentaries, told the New York Times that Melania Trump’s price was unusual and suggested the company was “buying something else with the money.”
Bezos was repeatedly attacked by President Trump during his first term, but this time he is standing by the president. He has dined with President Trump at his Mar-a-Lago mansion and attended his inauguration a year ago. Meanwhile, Amazon donated $1 million to President Trump’s Inauguration Fund to help pay for the president’s $300 million ballroom renovation.
More drama unfolded across Mr. Bezos’ world this week after multiple news outlets reported that the Washington Post, which Mr. Bezos has owned since 2013, was preparing for widespread layoffs across its news department, with sports, local and international divisions expected to be affected.
The paper’s White House team sent a letter to Bezos explaining the importance of the team’s work and telling the boss it required “collaboration with all parts of the newsroom.”
Revenue settings
By the middle of next week, attention on Amazon will be coming from closer to home: Wall Street.
On Thursday, the company is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results, marking the end of earnings season for tech giants (although Nvidia (I will report later in the month).
Amazon is expected to see sales rise about 13% to $211.3 billion, according to analysts surveyed by LSEG. This expansion is being driven by Amazon Web Services and digital advertising, both of which are expected to grow around 22%, based on FactSet data.
Analysts at KeyBanc Capital Markets raised their price targets on the stock this week and kept their buy recommendation unchanged, in part due to the recent acceleration of AWS with the OpenAI deal. Amazon is currently in talks to invest up to $50 billion in OpenAI, CNBC confirmed this week.
Amazon is increasing spending on data centers as it races to keep up with rivals in the AI field. According to LSEG, in its financial report, capital investment is expected to increase by 24% from the previous year to approximately $34.5 billion.
Analysts at KeyBanc said that while these cost increases will weigh on profitability, “we believe Amazon will continue to seek further efficiencies across the organization to minimize potential margin impact.”
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