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Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on Tuesday told employees he wanted to revitalize the company, more than a month after laying off about 18,000 employees, according to audio obtained by Insider. He made an enthusiastic sales pitch.
In an all-hands meeting, Jassy rallied employees to talk about “an opportunity to reprioritize and rethink what's important” to meet customer needs and “work together as a team.” We talked about reshaping the company's culture.
“This is not something that will take a month or two. We intend to make meaningful progress every month, but this will take many months. We are confident that we will be misunderstood and underestimated. “It will be done,” Jassy said.
Mr. Jassy previously said the company needed to be “inventive, resourceful and energetic” amid the largest layoff in company history of 18,000 employees.
Related: Amazon to lay off 18,000 employees, largest layoff in company history: “Be inventive, resourceful, and gutsy''
As The Verge noted, Amazon recently posted its weakest fourth quarter (holiday season) in history, even though total sales were still up year-over-year.
In the audio, Jassy also talked about his passion for the investments the company is making, from grocery stores to streaming to self-driving cars and more. He also said a “highly uncertain economic environment” had created a difficult time for the company, as well as a glut of employees due to the pandemic.
“We know and feel that these are really difficult times,” he told employees.
He gave them three key areas to work on for the next stage of the company: focus, customer obsession, and ownership.
Jassy's focus was on enabling people to be “more productive” without having to spend time recruiting. He focused more on the needs of his customers and encouraged them to think of them as business owners rather than employees of the company.
He added that thinking like an owner also involves trying to cut costs, being “nimble and reactive” and collaborating with teammates.
