Amazon employees openly welcomed a possible comeback by Jeff Bezos to run the struggling e-retail giant after current CEO Andy Jassy announced a larger-than-expected wave of layoffs, based on a report Friday.
Speculation that Bezos could seek to supplant Jassy as CEO has increased during a sustained downturn in Amazon’s stock price. In a recent blog post, Michael Batnick, a managing partner of Ritholtz Wealth Management, suggested Bezos could “pull a Bob Iger” this yr and return to stabilize the corporate he founded.
Employees reportedly discussed the likelihood on an internal message board dedicated to the topic of layoffs on Thursday – the identical day that Jassy cited economic uncertainty while detailing plans to slash greater than 18,000 jobs early this yr. Screenshots of the messages were obtained by Insider.
“Apparently not even Andy is secure,” one worker reportedly wrote alongside a link to Batnick’s interview with CNBC discussing why he felt a Bezos homecoming was possible.
“He should come…he’s the most effective,” one other employee said in reference to Bezos.
A colleague responded with a screenshot that said “The Return of The King,” while one other shared an image of Bezos with the caption “miss me yet?”
Bezos ceded the role of CEO to Jassy in 2021, though he still serves as Amazon’s executive chairman. The Amazon founder currently ranks because the world’s fifth-richest person, with an estimated net price of $109.4 billion, based on Forbes.
But Bezos’ net price has plummeted alongside Amazon’s valuation over the past yr as a severe downturn hit the tech sector. Shares of Amazon and other Big Tech giants have steadily sold off as a series of Federal Reserve rate of interest hikes sparked fears of an economic downturn.
Jassy has responded to the worsening economic outlook and sagging revenue with some cost-cutting measures, including this week’s round of layoffs.
One worker on Amazon’s internal chat board made reference to the corporate’s dismal recent performance.
“No wonder there are rumors [Bezos] is coming back. Probably asking [Jassy] WTH are you doing to my company,” the employee wrote.
To date, Bezos has given no indication that he plans to return to a more distinguished role or that Jassy’s gig is in any jeopardy.
Insider’s report said some employees have also been critical of the messaging from Amazon executives as they embark on the layoffs, which Jassy discussed on an internal board Wednesday before the cuts were made public in a blog post later within the day.
Amazon defended the way it communicates with the staff.
“We increasingly communicate our significant news as an organization through our internal site for workers (Inside Amazon) and external site for Amazon news (About Amazon),” an Amazon spokesperson told The Post on Friday.
“The overwhelming majority of feedback we received was as positive as it might probably be with difficult news like this. With 1.5 million employees, we all the time see varied feedback, and if we expect there’s something to learn from that feedback, even when it’s a from small minority, we’ll make adjustments in the longer term,” the spokesperson added.