Reuters
ReutersNEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) - Amazon.com can’t always dominate everything – and that might be a strength. The $855 billion e-commerce giant is laying off 18,000 people, more than it had originally planned. In a backwards way, this helps Amazon’s antitrust defense.
Boss Andy Jassy wrote in a memo Wednesday about plans to hand out pink slips mostly in the Amazon Stores and People, Experience, and Technology groups. Like other digital behemoths, Amazon has been hit by a slowing economy and investors’ souring view on tech. Last year’s revenue is likely to have ended up just 9% higher than 2021, according to Refinitiv estimates, compared to 22% growth in 2021 versus the previous year.
The irony is that showing weakness could actually benefit Amazon. Jassy said the company was going to be “scrappy in this time”. That sounds like something a smaller technology shop might say. With a market capitalization of more than two Walmarts and revenue of five Targets, it’s hardly small. But showing that it has to work to compete in a difficult environment probably isn’t a terrible strategy for a company facing antitrust blowback. (By Lauren Silva Laughlin)
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(Editing by Jennifer Saba and Sharon Lam)
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