What We Learned This Week

Tech Layoffs Keep Coming: For anyone wondering what AI’s impact on jobs will look like, it’s already starting to play out in real time. Amazon announced plans this week to cut 14,000 corporate roles, with total reductions that could eventually exceed 30,000, nearly 10% of its white-collar workforce. The company framed the move as part of a broader realignment around AI, reshaping its organization to operate more efficiently in an increasingly automated world. Much of the coverage has suggested AI is directly replacing these jobs, but the reality is more nuanced. Big tech companies have been pouring billions into the chips and infrastructure needed to power AI systems, and investors have largely looked past the short-term financial strain in exchange for long-term efficiency gains. Now, the market is looking for proof that those investments can actually deliver - doing more with fewer people.

In many ways, these layoffs are as much about optics and positioning as they are about technology readiness. The tools may not yet be capable of replacing large swaths of the workforce, but companies are preparing for that eventuality and signaling fiscal discipline to keep investor confidence high. It’s a delicate moment: the same narrative that fuels AI-driven optimism also justifies workforce reductions across the tech sector. If these cuts continue to ripple outward (through reduced hiring and cautious corporate spending) they could eventually weigh on broader sentiment and consumption. Efficiency gains may boost margins, but they also risk slowing the very economic momentum that underpins those lofty valuations.

GLP-1s at Walmart: Eli Lilly is expanding access to its blockbuster GLP-1 weight-loss drug Zepbound through a new partnership with Walmart. The collaboration will make the drug available in Walmart pharmacies nationwide at the same discounted price Lilly offers through its direct-to-consumer platform - starting at $349 per month for the initial dose and $499 for higher doses, roughly half of the list price. Customers will still need a prescription, but the move dramatically broadens access through Walmart, the nation’s fifth-largest pharmacy chain. It’s a strategic effort to maintain momentum in the rapidly growing GLP-1 market and to keep pace with Novo Nordisk, maker of competing drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.

The partnership also aligns with mounting political pressure to make weight-loss medications more affordable and widely available. The Trump administration has pushed for lower drug prices and expanded distribution, and Lilly’s retail partnerships fit neatly into that narrative. With Zepbound already showing stronger clinical results than its rivals, increasing accessibility through Walmart strengthens Lilly’s position in what has quickly become one of the most lucrative and competitive markets in healthcare.

Nvidia Spending at a Breakneck Pace: Nvidia continues to spend at a pace that’s hard to fathom. This week the company announced a $1 billion investment in Nokia to collaborate on next-generation wireless technology and potential 6G infrastructure, just the latest in a string of massive bets following its multibillion-dollar commitments to OpenAI and even rival Intel. Nvidia’s strategy seems simple: be everywhere AI touches. The company has firmly positioned itself as the indispensable player in the broader tech ecosystem, and investor sentiment reflects it. This week, Nvidia became the first company ever to surpass a $5 trillion market cap, cementing its status as the world’s most valuable company.

The enthusiasm is extraordinary and (for now) justified. While peers across the tech landscape are cutting costs and scaling back, Nvidia keeps deploying capital aggressively into every corner of the AI economy. When your customers’ biggest complaint is that they can’t get enough of your product, it’s a good problem to have. Still, the scale and speed of this expansion raise inevitable questions about sustainability and ripple effects. Nvidia and its partners are undeniably reshaping the technological landscape, but like any transformative force, that kind of disruption rarely comes without turbulence along the way.