Amazon Freezes Hiring for Ad Business as Sales Slow; Meta Tests Minting and Selling NFTs on Instagram

by Hannah Dillon on 3rd Nov 2022 in News

In today's ExchangeWire news digest: Amazon freezes hiring for ad business after disappointing Q3 results; Meta trials minting and selling NFTs on Instagram in the US; and the BBC overhauls local radio to become more “digital-led”.

Amazon suspends hiring for ad business

E-commerce giant Amazon inc. is reportedly freezing staffing levels within its advertising business, according to Bloomberg. The retailer is believed to have announced the freeze to staff on Tuesday (1st November) and has suspended the creation of new positions within its advertising business, although it will continue to fill existing vacancies.

The move indicates Amazon is taking drastic measures to balance its expenses with slowing sales. On Thursday (27th October) the company announced lower-than-expected results for Q3 2022 and predicted a slowdown of sales for the end of the year.

Meta trials minting and selling NFTs on Instagram

Meta has launched a trial into the minting and selling of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Instagram. The test, which aims to replicate the experience of traditional NFT marketplaces, is being run with “a small group of creators in the US” and marks Meta’s latest effort to make Instagram a monetisable platform for creators.

BBC cuts local radio shows in move towards digital

The BBC has announced plans to overhaul local radio and significantly reduce the amount of content created for specific stations. The move falls under the broadcaster’s larger strategy to become more “modern” and “digital-led”.

According to the BBC, all 39 of its radio stations will continue to broadcast local programming from 6am to 2pm on weekdays, with content after 2pm to be produced by the BBC directly and shared between stations.