Amazon Profits Drop 28% As It Strives For One-Day Deliveries

An anonymous reader quotes CNN:
Amazon said Thursday that its profit for the three months ending in September fell to $2.1 billion from $2.9 billion in the same period a year ago, a decline of nearly 28%, as the company invests heavily to expedite deliveries... The company announced in April that it would spend $800 million in the upcoming quarter to make one-day shipping standard for customers who subscribe to Prime, its membership service. Three months later, Amazon said the actual cost ended up being even higher. The company's shipping costs for the quarter hit $9.6 billion, up 46% from the prior year, as it worked to cut its standard delivery time for Prime in half.

If that wasn't enough, Amazon's headcount grew by nearly 100,000 full-time and part-time employees during the quarter. Amazon held a a career day last month during which it looked to fill more than 30,000 jobs. The new employees will largely work in fulfillment and transportation roles, amid the shift to one-day shipping, CFO Brian Olsavsky said on a call with analysts Thursday...

In a statement with its earnings report on Thursday, CEO Jeff Bezos said the investment will be worthwhile in the long run...