Autonomous Trucks
SEATTLE — For years, working on a project that didn’t make a lot of sense to outsiders but was championed by the boss was a badge of honor for employees at some of the tech industry’s biggest companies. When those projects have fizzled, workers have often slipped into another job at the company. But as tech companies have turned to mass layoffs in recent months, the big bets have increasingly looked like bad bets for holding on to a job. When companies have looked for cuts, they have turned to the groups that could be years from making something that will turn a profit. At Amazon, the ax fell on teams working on the Alexa voice system, drones and automated stores, all projects championed by Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, who no longer runs the company.