The Federal Trade Commission’s $2.5 billion settlement with Amazon has sent shockwaves through the tech industry, exposing the hidden costs of digital convenience and raising urgent questions about the future of online subscriptions.

Amazon is set to slash thousands of corporate jobs starting Oct. 28, according to multiple reports. The impending corporate layoffs amount to the largest such job reduction in the company's history, CNBC and Reuters reported, citing anonymous sources.

Amazon now operates over one million robots across its fulfillment network, edging closer to its 1.56 million-strong human workforce, most of whom are employed in warehouses.

Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world, and Amazon is one of the most influential economic and cultural forces in the world. All the more reason to have a look at how the company came to be, considering Bezos built it up from his garage during the 1990s.