HOUSTON (AP) — Houston’s Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa won’t play in the World Baseball Classic after both failed to get insurance on their contracts for the tournament.
The Athletic reported Tuesday that both players will miss the event, which runs from March 5-17, because they couldn’t get insurance to protect their contracts in the event of injuries.
Correa, who will make $31 million this season, was expected to play for Puerto Rico and Altuve, who will make $33 million in 2026, was hoping to suit up for Venezuela.
“That’s too big of a risk to take, to play with no insurance,” Correa told The Athletic. "I’m definitely upset because I’ve been preparing really hard this offseason to get better this year and be ready early so I can be ready for the WBC.”
Correa said he made the decision after having a talk with Astros owner Jim Crane after learning he could not get insurance on his contract.
“Jim called me and told me that he wants me to focus on the team and spring training. Obviously, he traded for me to win a championship here, and we had too many injuries as a team (last season),” Correa said.
Correa returned to Houston in a blockbuster trade at last year’s deadline after spending more than three seasons with the Twins.
The 35-year-old Altuve sat out the first two months of the 2023 season after fracturing his right thumb in the last World Baseball Classic.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
FILE - Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve walks back to the dugout at the end of the third inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Sept. 25, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall, File)
FILE - Houston Astros' Carlos Correa walks towards the dugout at the end of a baseball game after the team lost to the Athletics, Sept. 24, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall, File)
Amazon is slashing about 16,000 jobs in the second round of mass layoffs for the ecommerce company in three months.
The tech giant has said it plans to use generative artificial intelligence to replace corporate workers. It has also been reducing a workforce that swelled during the pandemic.
Beth Galetti, a senior vice president at Amazon, said in a blog post Wednesday that the company has been “reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy.”
The latest reductions follow a round of job cuts in October, when Amazon said it was laying off 14,000 workers. While some Amazon units completed those “organizational changes” in October, others did not finish until now, Galetti said.
She said U.S.-based staff would be given 90 days to look for a new role internally. Those who are unsuccessful or don't want a new job will be offered severance pay, outplacement services and health insurance benefits, she said.
“While we’re making these changes, we’ll also continue hiring and investing in strategic areas and functions that are critical to our future,” Galetti said.
CEO Andy Jassy, who has aggressively cut costs since succeeding founder Jeff Bezos in 2021, said in June that he anticipated generative AI would reduce Amazon’s corporate workforce in the next few years.
The layoffs are Amazon’s biggest since 2023, when the company cut 27,000 jobs.
Meanwhile, Amazon and other Big Tech and retail companies have cut thousands of jobs to bring spending back in line following the COVID-19 pandemic. Amazon's workforce doubled as millions stayed home and boosted online spending.
Hiring has stagnated in the U.S. and in December, the country added a meager 50,000 jobs, nearly unchanged from a downwardly revised figure of 56,000 in November.
Labor data points to a reluctance by businesses to add workers even as economic growth has picked up. Many companies hired aggressively after the pandemic and no longer need to fill more jobs. Others have held back due to widespread uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s shifting tariff policies, elevated inflation, and the spread of artificial intelligence, which could alter or even replace some jobs.
While economists have described the labor situation in the U.S as a “no hire-no fire” environment, some companies have said they are cutting back on jobs, even this week.
On Tuesday, UPS said it planned to cut up to 30,000 operational jobs through attrition and buyouts this year as the package delivery company reduces the number of shipments from what was its largest customer, Amazon.
That followed 34,000 job cuts in October at UPS and the closing of daily operations at 93 leased and owned buildings during the first nine months of last year.
Also on Tuesday, Pinterest said it plans to lay off under 15% of its workforce, as part of broader restructuring that arrives as the image-sharing platform pivots more of its money to artificial intelligence.
Shares of Amazon Inc., based in Seattle, rose slightly before the opening bell Wednesday.
FILE - Shopping carts are positioned outside an Amazon Fresh grocery store in Warrington, Pa., Feb. 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
FILE - People walk out of an Amazon Go store in Seattle, March 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
