Amazon Devices Chief Shows Optimism For Unprofitable Alexa's Fate Despite Downsizing

Amazon.Com, Inc AMZN devices chief expressed commitment to building the Alexa ecosystem despite job cuts.
When Amazon initiated its landmark layoffs, the Devices and Services group responsible for the Alexa voice-activated assistant, Echo smart speakers, Fire streaming devices, and home robots was the hardest hit, Bloomberg reports.
Senior Vice President Dave Limp, in an interview, cited continued big bets on Alexa, Zoox self-driving taxis, and Kuiper internet satellites as evidence supporting CEO Andy Jassy's willingness to invest billions on projects that might not pay off for years.
Jassy reportedly inspected and spent time with the aforesaid big bets.
Job cuts in Limp's division affected well under 2,000 people, he said, spread about evenly between groups working on the Alexa voice assistant and other teams.
The group still employed tens of thousands of people, Limp said, with about 10,000 working specifically on Alexa-related projects.
Amazon also wound down teams working on Alexa-related telehealth services, original games, and unreleased projects.
Amazon expanded the Alexa team rapidly to fulfill founder Jeff Bezos's desire to re-create the Star Trek talking computer and get there faster than Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL and Apple Inc AAPL.
Limp insisted that engagement with Alexa grew and with an all-time high software engagement. But he admitted that the devices group is still not profitable.
Becoming profitable will require persuading customers who use the hardware to pay for such services as online shopping, music, or audiobooks, Limp said.
"I think the momentum of monetization of Alexa is on the right track," he said.
Price Action: AMZN shares traded lower by 0.56% at $91.97 on the last check Wednesday.

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