10 Things in Tech: Amazon store closures

Good morning, readers. Amazon is closing some of its brick-and-mortar stores, and Apple is expected to drop a handful of new products next week.

Shall we?

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1. Amazon is shuttering dozens of its physical retail stores. The e-commerce giant is closing all of its Amazon Books, Amazon 4-Star, and Amazon Pop Up stores in the US and the UK, Reuters first reported.

• Amazon has struggled to replicate its massive online success with some of its brick-and-mortar shops. Leaked documents show the company has fallen behind on its ambitious goals for its cashierless Fresh stores, and its smart shopping carts have seen a steady decline in use since their debut in 2020.
• The company told Insider it will continue its work on other physical stores, including Amazon-owned Whole Foods and Amazon Go, as well as Amazon Style clothing stores, which it announced last month.
• The company said in a statement that it will work with the staff at the 68 affected stores to find other roles within Amazon, including at nearby Amazon stores. Those who are not moved into new roles will receive severance, the company said.

Here's what else we know about the closures.

In other news:

2. Google wants employees back at the office in April. The company told workers in the Bay Area and elsewhere in the US they should plan to return to the office three days a week, starting April 4. We've got the full rundown here.

3. Instagram's Explore page is turning young women into micro influencers — and not necessarily by choice. Women told Insider that while being featured on the app's Explore page has led to brand deals, they also felt pressured to become influencers and post "thirst traps." Here's what some users told us.

4. Epic Games is acquiring Bandcamp. Epic, which is perhaps most known for its video game "Fortnite," announced Wednesday it would buy the music platform. What we know about the acquisition so far.

5. Facebook's outgoing CTO is giving up almost $50 million to move to a new role. Longtime exec Mike Schroepfer, who is moving to a part-time position as a senior fellow, is "forfeiting" more than 232,000 restricted stock units — or roughly a third of the Facebook stock he owns directly. More on Schroepfer's new position.

6. In Ukraine news: Tesla is offering free EV charging stations in nearby countries for those fleeing Ukraine, Snapchat has banned ad sales to Russia, and Ukrainian officials are trying to get Russia removed from the internet.

7. See the résumé that got this person a job at Google without networking or referrals. While still in college, Jerry Lee landed an internship at the search giant and stuck around for three years. He told us a strong résumé is one of the most effective ways to stand out to recruiters. Check out his résumé, which he revised about 20 times, here.

8. An interviewer had Mark Zuckerberg circle traffic lights on a piece of paper to prove he isn't a robot. Zuckerberg has long fielded jokes that he acts like a robot, so an interviewer had him complete a CAPTCHA, the online test that proves a user is a human. Read more about Zuckerberg's robot test.

Odds and ends:

9. Get ready: New Apple products are expected March 8. The company announced its next digital-only event, dubbed "Peek Performance," where a new iPad Air and an iPhone SE with 5G are rumored to make their debut. Here's what products might drop next week.

10. Ford stopped Elon Musk from using a specific name for new Tesla vehicles. Now the auto giant is restructuring, and using the name for its new division. Ford is splitting into two auto businesses: one for combustion vehicles and one for electric cars. The latter will be called Ford Model e. How Ford made Tesla call its third car the Model 3, not the Model E.

What we're watching today:

• "The Dropout," a limited series about blood-testing startup Theranos, airs on Hulu.
• Best Buy and others are expected to report earnings today. Keep up with earnings here.

Keep updated with the latest tech news throughout your day by checking out The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio news brief from the Insider newsroom. Listen here.

Curated by Jordan Parker Erb in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email jerb@insider.com or tweet @jordanparkererb.) Edited by Michael Cogley in London.