Mia Raspanti
Asst. News Editor
Jeff Bezos, creator of the online superstore known as Amazon, has decided to step down as CEO. The highly desired position will be granted to the company's long time head computer tech Andy Jassy.
Bezos will begin his transition to the role of executive chair in the summer of 2021, ending the nearly 30 year era he had as being Amazon’s CEO.
Under the supervision of Bezos, Amazon has evolved from a small e-book store to possibly the biggest internet marketplace in the world. Amazon instigated the wave of online shopping and convenience, and changed the process of how we do our everyday errands and tasks. With just the touch of a button, shoppers can have almost anything they could ever want delivered to their front doors.
In addition to e-commerce, Amazon additionally has a plethora of physical retail opportunities as well. Having a significant presence in the popular organic food store Whole Foods and a newfound Amazon food store, Amazon is almost inescapable. Amazon Web Services are additionally a huge aspect of this business, for it is a major cloud computing operation that powers websites and online servers all over the world.
As business started to grow, Amazon created warehouses and computer laboratories to take a handle on the plethora of online business orders they had coming their way. The computer servers continue for miles and house all of the necessary information needed to keep this successful business afloat.
With the company's astronomical amount of growth quickly coming underway, Bezos was soon to be named the richest man on the planet. Having been the founder of this company that has flourished into possibly the most well known business in the world, his riches are no surprise.
As convenient as Amazon may be for consumers, to small businesses, Amazon is their worst nightmare. The convenience and low prices have made small businesses almost a thing of the past. Convenience and quick shipping has held triumph over the act of going to small retailers for your everyday goods.
Popular toy stores known as Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy in 2017, experts placed the blame for the stores downfall on stores such as Amazon and Walmart. The newfound popularity of online shopping has led this business, in addition to many others, to file for bankruptcy.
Amazon has been one of the largest jobs providers in the United States in recent years. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the opening of an Amazon warehouse at the county level increases employment by more than 30%, yet their study also found that there is no significant net growth in jobs overall. In comparison, Amazon says that in places where the company opened a warehouse, unemployment dropped by 4.8% on average.
Andy Jassy’s transition to CEO is scheduled to take place over the summer. In a letter sent out to Amazon employees on February 2, Bezos says he would rather focus on new ventures such as his philanthropic endeavors and his space-travel company, Blue Origin. Referring to his role as Amazon CEO Bezos said, “When you have responsibility like that, it’s hard to put attention on anything else.”
Jassy has been with Amazon since 1997 and helped shape Amazon Web Services, which he became head of in 2016. Company executives believe that Jassy’s experience with the company will be an asset and help make the transition as smooth as possible.