The Andy Jassy Way at Amazon
New York Times
July 18, 2022
When Jeff Bezos led Amazon, he kept his distance from Washington. He rarely lobbied lawmakers and testified before Congress only once, under threat of subpoena. Andy Jassy, though, has visited Washington at least three times in the year since he took over the top job from Amazon’s founder. It’s just one of the ways Jassy is changing how the retailing giant and technology juggernaut operates, report The Times’s David McCabe and Karen Weise in a profile of the Amazon C.E.O. out this morning.
Jassy is quickly putting his imprint on the company. The longtime Bezos lieutenant has made more changes than many expected.
He’s delved deep into logistics and other parts of the business that his predecessor left to deputies.
He’s cut costs, admitted Amazon overbuilt, and overseen tumultuous leadership changes.
He’s struck a conciliatory tone with employees while maintaining Amazon’s long-held and often aggressive opposition to unions.
The biggest difference between Jassy and Bezos may be their engagement with Washington. Jassy has called Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic majority leader, on antitrust reforms. He’s talked with Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, about Amazon’s new corporate campus in the state. He’s also met twice with Virginia’s other Democratic senator, Mark Warner, a co-sponsor of a bill that would limit Amazon’s ability to prioritize its own products over others’ on its website. “He’s very inquisitive,” said Ron Klain, President Biden’s chief of staff, who met with Jassy in Washington in September.
A more direct approach in Washington may be borne of necessity. Amazon is facing regulatory scrutiny on several fronts.
Antitrust: In addition to the bill that would limit how Amazon can feature products in its marketplace, the F.T.C. chair, Lina Khan, is investigating whether Amazon’s market dominance is limiting rivals’ ability to compete.
Unions: Last year, Biden threw his support behind Amazon workers who were trying to unionize and hosted a union organizer in the Oval Office.
Amazon has responded by expanding its lobbying. It spent $19.3 million on federal lobbying in 2021, up from $2.2 million a decade earlier, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks influence in Washington.
And Jassy’s more direct approach appears to be paying off. “Not many lobbyists would be able to sit down with — or even get a call with — most of the members of congressional leadership at all,” said Daniel Auble, a senior researcher at OpenSecrets. “But of course the C.E.O. of Amazon can get them all on the phone.”
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