Amazon CEO Jassy Urges ‘Startup’ Mentality in Shareholder Letter

SHAREHOLDER LETTER
Amazon CEO Jassy Urges ‘Startup’ Mentality in Shareholder Letter

Andy Jassy is trying to make Amazon feel like Day 1 again. In his annual letter to shareholders, the CEO pitched a back-to-basics revival, calling on the tech giant to move faster, think scrappier, and ditch the red tape. He even set up a “bureaucracy mailbox,” where employees sent in nearly 1,000 gripes about internal slowdowns. The result? Over 375 changes and a not-so-subtle reminder: builders hate red tape.

Jassy’s startup pep talk wasn’t just cultural—it’s financial. Amazon has already slashed over 27,000 jobs across the last two years and continues to trim experimental projects that weren’t pulling their weight. Meanwhile, he’s pushing teams to do more with less and simplifying the corporate org chart. The startup energy? It's not just about vibes—it's about margins.

AI Is the New AWS

Amazon isn’t just chasing speed—it’s chasing the next gold rush. Jassy said AI is a “once-in-a-lifetime reinvention of everything we know,” and he’s putting his money where his mouth is. Amazon plans to spend the bulk of its $100B capex this year on AI infrastructure, like Trainium chips, new Alexa models, and its Bedrock platform for third-party models. He’s betting these tools will bring down AI costs over time, just like AWS did for cloud.

Even as competitors like Alphabet promise $75B in AI spend this year, Jassy believes Amazon’s in a strong position—especially as companies look to apply AI across commerce, healthcare, and more. And he made it clear: AI costs might be steep now, but the future is cheaper, smarter, and more scalable.

Tariffs? We’ll Try Not to Pass the Pain

On the elephant in the room—tariffs—Jassy said Amazon will try to hold the line on pricing, but acknowledged that some third-party sellers might pass on costs. While the Trump administration has paused most tariffs, the hike on China (where Amazon sources much of its inventory) still looms large.

But don’t expect Jassy to slow his roll. Between cutting fat and doubling down on AI, he’s still betting big—even as macro pressures mount. His vision? A faster, leaner Amazon that feels less like a corporate cruise ship and more like a 500,000-employee startup chasing its next wave.