Amazon Chief Addresses Consumer Chief Exit, Risky Bets, Streaming Business, Union and More

Amazon.com, Inc AMZN chief Andy Jassy in an interview at the Bloomberg Technology Summit in San Francisco, acknowledged its consumer chief departure and continued investments in risky bets like autonomous vehicles, video streaming, and internet satellites amid odds.

Clark Dave wanted a different gig at this point, Jassy said. Dave was instrumental in building Amazon's massive warehousing and logistics network, which played a critical role during the pandemic as activities shifted online.

However, the pandemic recovery has left Amazon overstaffed and over-spaced, which Jassy had apprehended as a short-term phenomenon. Therefore he looked to sublease some of its facilities.

However, the global supply chain crisis continues to bite. Amazon placed orders significantly earlier than usual and worked to get access to more ports, Jassy added.

Interestingly, Amazon went ahead with big bets amid odds, including building a grocery chain and launching a constellation of internet-beaming satellites, Alexa software, and Zoox, the autonomous taxi subsidiary. 

Jassy was positive on Amazon's streaming video businesses despite Netflix, Inc's NFLX woes, thanks to its big-budget series set in the Lord of the Rings universe and assets from its film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Jassy also addressed the labor union tussle at Amazon's warehouses. He voiced his support for those wishing to join the union assuring efforts to continue providing the right benefits and safety with the help of employee feedback.

Jassy also rejected criticism for alleged abuse of its third-party marketplace. Amazon assured work to improve services for sellers and claimed more sellers were happy with Amazon than unhappy.

Jassy also revealed that his predecessor, Jeff Bezos, Amazon's executive Chair, still played an active role despite spending more time on philanthropy and his space company Blue Origin.

The e-commerce giant posted its first loss in seven years and the slowest revenue growth since 2001. 

Price Action: AMZN shares traded lower by 0.80% at $120.21 on the last check Thursday.

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