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Technology Stocks : Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Glenn D. Rudolph who wrote (115852)	1/20/2001 2:42:24 AM
From: Alomex	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

The problem is I am not sure Amazon can mutate in time. Do you know if Amazon is able to retain good programming talent lately? I was talking with somebody from the University of Washington at Seattle, and apparently they are. They hire a lot of good CS students upon completion of studies (undergrads and grads).

To: Glenn D. Rudolph who wrote (115852)	1/20/2001 10:57:54 AM
From: H James Morris	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 164684

Glenn, >Drugstore.com laid off nearly a fourth of its work force yesterday in an effort to cut its 2001 operating costs by $20 million and start earning money by 2004. The Bellevue-based online pharmacy is cutting 125 of the 550 positions it has, despite upbeat reports of its performance during the holiday season. In October, the company cut 60 jobs. The reductions come as dot-coms that sell goods to consumers are wielding a large knife to slash expenses or going out of business altogether. The moves are leaving few unscathed, even as they see some light in an otherwise gloomy outlook. On Monday, for instance, drugstore.com is expected to announce that, even as online retailing's sustainability is being questioned, its fourth-quarter net sales were 90 percent higher than during the same period last year, and in fact exceeded net sales for all of 1999. Shares of the company were up 16 cents yesterday, closing at $2.63. Chief Executive Peter Neupert said the cost-cutting is designed to enable the 2-year-old company to begin breaking even in 2004 without additional capital. He said it has learned to be more efficient, especially with its marketing. "The fact that we're in control of our destiny and can get to break even with the cash we have on hand says, at least as long as we're on plan, we don't need to do any more belt tightening," he said. The company said it ended 2000 with $130 million in cash. The company also announced the resignation of David Rostov, vice president of finance and chief financial officer, "to pursue other opportunities." Rostov, formerly CFO of Nextel International, will be replaced by Bob Barton, vice president and general manager of pharmacy operations. For employees it may have seemed like déjà vu. October's layoffs came just days before the company announced its third-quarter performance, including losses of $45.7 million. It also pushed back its expected break-even date from 2003 to 2004. Employment reached as high as 658 people in July and the company was to be the anchor tenant of Lincoln Square, a Bellevue office tower opening in 2002. The company also operates a distribution center in Bridgeport, N.J. Several layoffs will occur there but most are in Bellevue. Among those affected are workers in marketing, administration, production and operations. Neupert said the company can spend less and continue growing because it has learned to be more selective in its spending to attract customers. This approach was validated during the past two quarters when it concentrated its marketing efforts online, which is a less expensive way to promote its business, he said. The layoffs are an attempt to show investors that drugstore.com is putting its house in order, said Steve Weinstein, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities in Portland. "Clearly, they're going through a big belt-tightening, like everybody else in the e-tailing space," he said. "It's definitely a move that they had to do," said Aram Fuchs, an analyst with Fertilemind.net in New York. Fuchs said investors should remain cautious because the restructurings are being done "by the same people who thought e-commerce was going to take over the world." "They were way too optimistic," Fuchs said, "when it was easy to get capital." Copyright © 2001 The Seattle Times Company