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☆ Amazon CEO Andy Jassy now has 16 direct reports. See the growing and evolving list here, including a newly promoted executive from Alexa.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently expanded his group of direct reports. Jassy has added at least 8 new executives to his direct reports since becoming CEO in 2021. Amazon recently created a new AI group that reports to CEO Andy Jassy. In his 2 years since becoming CEO, Jassy has added or replaced at least 8 executives in his top leadership team. (Jassy's direct reports are different from the S-team, a group of more than two dozen most senior decision-makers at Amazon).

Persons: Andy Jassy, Rohit Prasad, Prasad, Doug Herrington, Adam Selipsky, Brian Olsavsky, Jassy, There's, Dave Clark, Jay Carney, Jeff Blackburn, James Hamilton, Mike Hopkins, Eric Remling, Beth, Dave Limp, David Zapolsky, Drew Herdener, WW Communications Eric Rimling, Paul Kotas, Peter Krawiec, Alexa Stacey Pistole, Steve Boom, Steve Schmidt, Eugene Kim Organizations: Amazon, Alexa, Business, Amazon Studios, Amazon Devices, WW Amazon, WW Communications, Amazon Video, Corporate Locations: It's

☆ Leaked guidelines reveal more details about Amazon's controversial 'voluntary resignation' program for remote workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Amazon recently rolled out a so-called "return-to-hub" policy that forces employees to work out of centrally assigned office locations, called hubs. That could apply even if the rest of the employee's team is in other cities. Amazon managers should have "empathy and positive intent" when having these difficult conversations with their staff. 'Be prepared'Perhaps in anticipation of sharp resistance from employees, the guidelines provide Amazon managers with several talking points and best-practice examples to follow. If an employee asks why someone else may have a remote work exemption, managers are to say "personal circumstances are confidential."

Persons: Brad Glasser, we've, Amazon's, Eugene Kim Organizations: Amazon, Amazon's, Employees

☆ Inside Adobe, some staff worry their AI tech will kill graphic designer jobs and undermine the company's business model: 'Is this what we want?'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Adobe employees worry their AI technology could kill graphic designer jobs. Adobe AI tools make it easy to add new graphic elements or edit photos with text prompts. Inside Adobe, there's a debate raging over new AI technology that threatens to kill jobs among a key group of customers and potentially undermine the company's business model. The response from some Adobe employees has been less enthusiastic, according to internal messages viewed by Insider and interviews with employees. the person wrote.

Persons: Slack, Goldman Sachs, didn't, Brent Thill, David Wadhwani, Adobe, Bernstein, Eugene Kim Organizations: Adobe, Employees, Jefferies, Microsoft

☆ Leaked messages show Amazon will force a 'voluntary resignation' on employees failing to relocate near their team 'hubs'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon is asking employees to relocate to the "hub" office of their individual teams. Amazon employees who refuse to relocate near the "hub" office of their teams will either have to find a new job internally or leave the company through a "voluntary resignation." Under the initial return-to-office policy, Amazon employees could go into any office at least three times a week, regardless of where the majority of their team was. Some employees told Insider that made office work pointless because many still had to use video calls to connect with their teammates. Still, the change only adds to the frustration Amazon employees face.

Persons: Slack, Andy Jassy, Brad Glasser, there's, we've, Glasser, Amazon, it's, Amazon's, Beth Galetti, doesn't, Eugene Kim Organizations: Amazon, Employees, Amazon's Locations: Seattle , New York, Houston, Austin

☆ Amazon leaders are worried that a 'Day 2' mindset is seeping in at the company
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Matt Turner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Selipsky does work at a "big company" of course, but he doesn't want Amazon to feel that way. At Amazon, it's always supposed to be "Day 1," the dawn of a new era where the customer comes first and bold bets are backed. Selipsky said in the staff meeting that Amazon has to keep the mentality that "we are going to be the insurgents." Economic update: I wrote a week ago that the dream scenario for the economy was looking more likely by the day. More than 30 people involved in the tech industry told us the real problem was lazy managers.

Persons: Adam Selipsky, it's, Insider's Eugene Kim, Selipsky, that's, Andy Jassy, let's, Arantza Pena, —, David Clapp, Insider's Adam Rogers, Rogers, Phil Rosen, George Mickum Mike Vitelli, George Mickum, he'd, Birkin, Mitchie Nguyen, Matt Turner, Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan Organizations: AWS, Federal Trade Commission, San, Getty, Google, LinkedIn Locations: San Francisco San Francisco ,, San Francisco, Manhattan

☆ The future of Amazon's Honeycode cloud service is not looking so sweet
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Eugene Kim | Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon's AWS Honeycode app-building software is being phased out. It's business application team has struggled. Another Amazon business application is struggling. This time it's AWS Honeycode, a cloud-based app-building service. Besides Honeycode, Amazon has axed the Halo health band, the Scout delivery robot, and a number of long-term projects from its Grand Challenge moonshot lab.

Persons: Honeycode, they're, hasn't, Slack, Sriram Devanathan, Adam Bosworth, Adam Seligman, Seligman Organizations: AWS, Amazon, Service, Amazon Connect, SAP, Google, Microsoft

☆ Amazon Web Services has launched a new AI team as it scrambles to compete with rivals like OpenAI, leaked email and transcript shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Ashley Stewart | Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon is internally scrambling to take advantage of the generative AI boom. AWS just created a new org focused on getting customers to use generative AI to build on its cloud. Amazon Web Services has created a new organization focused on helping customers use generative AI tech on its cloud as the company scrambles to respond to the AI boom, an internal email viewed by Insider shows. "Across AWS (and Amazon), teams are experimenting with generative Al tools to improve builder productivity," DeSantis wrote. "Generative AI will also make it easier to enable a broader group of builders to develop applications on AWS," DeSantis wrote.

Persons: Peter DeSantis, DeSantis, Deepak Singh, Swami Sivasubramanian, I've, Jeff Bezos, Doug Seven, Jonathan Weiss, Harry Mower, Adam Seligman, Adam Selipsky, Selipsky, Ashley Stewart, Eugene Kim Organizations: Services, Insider, Amazon, AWS, Integrated Development, Singh, Web Services

☆ In a leaked recording, AWS CEO warns employees about a 'Day 2' mindset creeping, saying his biggest worry is 'ourselves'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky said he's worried about the company itself when employees asked what keeps him up at night. Selipsky told employees to stay curious, restless, and dissatisfied with the status quo. Amazon employees in recent years have complained about the so-called "Day 2" mindset creeping in, as Insider previously reported. At last month's meeting, Selipsky alluded to the Day 2 culture by mentioning the difference between "incumbents" and "insurgents." You can only do that if you're restless and dissatisfied.

Persons: Adam Selipsky, he's, Selipsky, Adam Selispky, Andy Jassy, Amazon's, Seplisky, They're, there's, we'll Organizations: Amazon Web, Web, Amazon, Builders, AWS

☆ Leaked email shows Adobe banning employee use of personal email accounts and corporate credit cards for generative AI apps
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Adobe recently shared a do's and don'ts list for the use of generative AI apps at the company. It bans the use of personal email accounts and corporate credit cards when signing up for the apps. Adobe employees can't use personal email accounts or corporate credit cards when signing up for AI tools, like ChatGPT. Apple, Alphabet, and Samsung have also restricted employee use of generative AI tools. Stoddard said in the internal email that generative AI can "augment human creativity, not replace it."

Persons: Cindy Stoddard, Stoddard, Don'ts, Eugene Kim Organizations: Adobe, Apple, Samsung

☆ Leaked document shows Amazon is in talks to expand its cloud contract with the Dutch government. It just passed a major privacy test, too.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon and the Dutch government are in talks to significantly expand the cloud deal between them. Amazon just passed an important data privacy test by the Dutch government. Amazon Web Services is in discussion to significantly expand its cloud contract with the Dutch government. The deal talks are taking place in the midst of a series of Dutch audits over AWS's data privacy measures, according to the document. Last week, AWS passed the Dutch government's Data Privacy Impact Assessment (DPIA), a key part of complying with Europe's General Data Protection Regulation, known as GDPR.

Persons: Amazon's, Eugene Kim Organizations: Amazon, Dutch Ministry of Justice, AWS, Security, Data, New York Times Locations: Government

☆ Leaked email shows Microsoft's VP in charge of data center energy is leaving a month after his promotion, joining an executive exodus
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Microsoft's VP of Energy Brian Janous is leaving. Brian Janous, Microsoft's VP in charge of data center energy strategy, is leaving just a month after being promoted to his current position, Insider has learned. Janous spent more than 11 years at Microsoft, primarily overseeing the company's cloud infrastructure energy and sustainability efforts. He was the first employee on Microsoft's energy team and was promoted to VP of Energy in June 2023, according to his Linkedin page. Janous is the latest executive to leave Microsoft's broader Cloud Operations and Innovations team, which manages the company's all-important cloud infrastructure.

Persons: Energy Brian Janous, Janous, Brian Janous, Microsoft's, Aditya Dalmia, Brian, Noelle Walsh, Scott Guthrie, Jennifer Weitzel, Osvaldo Morales, Michael Czamara, Dan Madrigal, Jeffrey Cox, Eugene Kim Organizations: Energy, Microsoft, Microsoft's CVP, Cloud Infrastructure, Planning, Industry, Operations, Innovations, Cloud Infrastructure Lease, Data, GM, Tejas Sukhadia, Innovation Locations: Microsoft's

☆ A new book reveals how Amazon used 'shady' strategies at its bookstores to drive up Prime subscriptions
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Jason Del Rey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The following excerpt reveals how Amazon attempted to utilize its physical bookstores to bolster Amazon Prime and its other digital subscription services — in sometimes unethical ways. Among them were bookstores, under the name Amazon Books, which first opened to the public in 2015. Prior to the pandemic, store customers could view one of the free trial offers on a screen in front of them. Amazon spokesperson Jordan Deagle told me that there was no corporate mandate to increase sign-ups for free trials of Amazon subscriptions. The e-commerce giant just couldn't break away from its digital DNA, even in a physical store setting.

Persons: Jason Del Rey, Amazon's, Chris Garlock, Garlock, Jordan Deagle, Deagle, Tony Hoggett, Insider's Eugene Kim Organizations: Walmart, Morning, Amazon, Amazon Prime, East Coast, Amazon Books, Tesco, Harper Business, HarperCollins Publishers, Federal Trade Commission, FTC

☆ Amazon's Project Iliad: The juiciest highlights from the FTC's Prime lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Eugene Kim | Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Here are the highlights:Amazon called the difficult cancellation process the "Iliad" in reference to Homer's epic poem, as Insider previously reported. The suit describes the Iliad process as "Prime's Four-Page, Six-Click, Fifteen-Option Iliad Cancellation Process" because it takes that many steps to cancel. Amazon has two ways to upsell Amazon Prime to customers: interstitials and non-interstitials. It's equally difficult to cancel Prime on a mobile device, involving an 8-page, 8-click minimum process, the FTC investigation found. Amazon failed to "provide simple mechanisms for a consumer to stop recurring charges" for the Prime membership.

Persons: Lindsay, Grandinetti, Ghani —, Interstitials, Eugene Kim Organizations: FTC, Amazon, Morning, Amazon Music, Commission, Prime

☆ Amazon tricked customers into buying a more expensive Prime subscription when they just wanted to stream videos, FTC says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The complaint alleged that Amazon's website was set up in a way that tricked customers out of the lower-cost Prime Video subscription. Colored buttons encouraged and redirected customers to sign up for a full Amazon Prime subscription, the complaint said. "Capitalizing on some consumers' inability to appreciate the difference between 'Prime' and 'Prime Video,' the Prime Video enrollment process fails to clarify Amazon will enroll them in Prime rather than the less expensive Prime Video, on both desktop and mobile platforms," the complaint said. "This causes some consumers to enroll in Prime, rather than Prime Video, unknowingly." The FTC complaint also alleged that Amazon "tricked" customers into signing up for a Prime subscription and then made it difficult to cancel the memberships.

Persons: Amazon, Insider's Organizations: FTC, Prime, Morning, Federal Trade Commission, Amazon, Insider

☆ Project Iliad: Amazon used a sneaky tactic to make it harder to quit Prime and cancellations dropped 14%, according to leaked data
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Hannah Towey | Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon intentionally made it harder to cancel Prime memberships with a project code-named "Iliad." The FTC sued Amazon on Wednesday, alleging the company made it more difficult for consumers to cancel Prime subscriptions. Amazon intentionally drew out the process of canceling a Prime membership under a project code-named "Iliad," according to internal documents obtained by Insider. "Customer transparency and trust are top priorities for us," Jamil Ghani, vice president of Amazon Prime, said in a statement. Starting February 18, Amazon's annual Prime membership fee increased from $119 to $139, and the monthly fees increased from $13 to $15.

Persons: Jamil Ghani, Hannah Towey Organizations: FTC, Amazon, Federal Trade Commission, Norwegian Consumer Council

☆ Amazon Prime FTC suit: How Insider's investigation led to a crackdown on the e-commerce giant
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Alistair Barr | Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Insider's investigation revealed that Amazon knowingly duped consumers into Prime subscriptions. The suit was the result of an Insider investigation in early 2022. One of those letters, reviewed by Insider, said the FTC made a Civil Investigative Demand to Amazon in March 2021. A CID is a legal document enforceable in court that seeks documents or other information related to an FTC investigation. In April 2022, the FTC sent more correspondence about the issue to Amazon lawyers, according to the letter, which cited Insider's original story from March 2022.

Persons: Amazon, Bezos, Eugene Kim, Graham Starr, CIDs, Andy Jassy, Dave Clark, Doug Herrington, Russ Grandinetti, Greg Greeley Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, Amazon, FTC, CID, Bezos Locations: Washington, Amazon's

☆ 10 Things in Tech: Oracle rescinds job offers, Twitter is getting evicted, and CEOs predict what’s next
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Big thanks to my amazing colleagues Hallam Bullock, Nathan Rennolds, and Lara O'Reilly for covering the newsletter while I was out. My colleague Sonam Sheth, however, is quite confused as to why hundreds of other people are also watching it. This setup means Amazon gets to list more items as eligible for free Prime shipping without having to significantly expand warehouses. They have to ship over 99% of their orders on time with an order cancellation rate of less than 0.5%. The US gives Russia's nuclear program about $1 billion every year.

Persons: It's, I'm, Siu, Hallam Bullock, Nathan Rennolds, Lara O'Reilly, I've, Sonam Sheth, Scott Olson, Eugene Kim, They've, Read, Elon, Valentina Tereshkova, Con —, Tupac, Diamond Naga Siu, Alistair Barr Organizations: Wall Street, Getty, Oracle, Twitter, Ikea, Benz, Washington Locations: Colorado, Spain, Portugal, Paris, California, San Diego, San Francisco, London

☆ Amazon has a plan to expand the number of items eligible for free Prime shipping that won't require it to build more warehouses
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon is reopening enrollment for a program it paused years ago. Seller Fulfilled Prime allows third-party sellers to ship Prime-eligible products directly, without using Amazon's warehouses. This may help Amazon expand Prime offerings without having to significantly expand warehouses. Amazon is reopening sign-ups for Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP), a delivery program that allows third-party sellers to ship Prime-eligible products out of their own warehouses, after a roughly 4-year pause. In a note to sellers earlier this week, Amazon said new seller enrollment for SFP will begin later this year.

Persons: Amazon, Amazon's, SFP, Sellers, Steve Denton, Denton, Marc Wulfraat, Eugene Kim Organizations: SFP, Amazon, UPS

☆ A leaked document of Amazon's ideas for using ChatGPT and AI at work lists 67 ways to take advantage of the ChatGPT boom
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Some of those ideas were shared in an internal document titled, "Generative AI-ChatGPT Impact and Opportunity Analysis." Amazon employees are in a rush to take advantage of the sudden rise of ChatGPT and similar AI technology. Amazon employees want to use the AI chatbot to auto-generate software code and marketing materials, according to the document. Amazon employees are even planning to use ChatGPT for a main part of Amazon's decision-making process, called PRFAQ. The same rules apply to the new Microsoft Bing search engine that uses ChatGPT's technology, an internal document said.

Persons: Eugene Kim Organizations: Amazon, Bloomberg, Microsoft Locations: Amazon

☆ As the DOJ digs in, Adobe's top lawyer tells employees to be careful talking about the $20 billion Figma acquisition, and asks them not to delete anything related to the deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Adobe's Dana Rao told employees to be careful when discussing the proposed Figma acquisition. Adobe's top lawyer told employees in an internal email to be extra careful when talking about the company's $20 billion proposed Figma acquisition, as antitrust scrutiny of the deal intensifies. In the his Adobe email, Rao said it's normal for a deal of Figma's size to go through lengthy regulatory reviews. During a March earnings call with analysts, Adobe's CEO Shantanu Narayen shared a similar end-of-year closing date for the Figma deal. In his email this month, Rao added 3 reasons why the company thinks Figma would be a good acquisition for Adobe.

Persons: Adobe's Dana Rao, Dana Rao, Department's, Rao, Shantanu Narayen, Narayen, Adobe's, Andrew Savage, Savage, Slack, Figma, Dana, Eugene Kim Organizations: Adobe, DOJ, European, SEC, CNBC, Federal Trade Commission, Activision Blizzard, Adobe Express, Department of Justice, Markets Authority, General, Competition Locations: ideation, Europe

☆ 10 Things in Tech: Amazon's AI scramble
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Hallam Bullock | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The OpenAI CEO says he is losing sleep over the fear that "we already have done something really bad by launching ChatGPT." When ChatGPT launched, Amazon managers asked staff for ideas on how to leverage the chatbot at work. "Amazon must be really scared about being late on all of this," an Amazon employee told Insider. Odds and ends:Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, showed off his guitar skills at Apple's WWDC conference this year. During the company's Worldwide Developers Conference, Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, stole the show with a guitar solo.

Persons: Hallam Bullock, Victor Frankenstein, Sam Altman, ChatGPT, Eugene Kim, Insider's Ben Bergman, We've, we've, Thrasio, doesn't, Read, Craig Federighi, Apple’s, Apple's, Dad, Jack Sommers Organizations: Amazon, ChatGPT, Getty, Elon, SpaceX, SpaceX's Starlink, Tech, LA Tech, The Washington Post, Netflix, Apple, Conference Locations: London

☆ Inside Amazon's rush to respond to ChatGPT. 'Amazon must be really scared about being late on all of this.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

"Amazon must be really scared about being late on all of this," one Amazon employee said in an interview. The same rules apply to the new Microsoft Bing search engine that uses ChatGPT's technology, an internal document said. "Since generative AI is all the rage right now, it will be included in the themes, and there will be a special award for the project that best demonstrates generative AI," the email said. Mike Blake/ReutersEmployees are still curious about Amazon's response to ChatGPT and generative AI, frequently bringing up the topic in internal town-hall meetings. He also said that Amazon's top leadership team, called the S-team, was "very excited about it" and that generative AI was a "big area of focus for us."

Persons: ChatGPT, Sam Altman, Sven Hoppe, It's, hackathons, Andy Jassy, Mike Blake, Adam Selipsky, Jassy, Eugene Kim Organizations: Amazon, Echo, Microsoft, Employees, Getty, Bloomberg, Burnham, Reuters Employees

☆ Top Wall Street firm writes a brutal open letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy: 'It's time to get back to Day One'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Bernstein, one of the top Wall Street research firms, wrote an open letter to Amazon's leadership. Jassy wrote in the letter that the company is optimistic about grocery, satellite internet, international businesses, and healthcare services. Bernstein wrote. Bernstein wrote. Investor communications win investor trust: Amazon's leadership should cut down on the rhetoric and share more specifics with investors.

Persons: Bernstein, you'd, Andy Jassy, Mark Shmulik, Amazon's, Jassy, There's, Eugene Kim Organizations: Amazon, Healthcare, Whole, Amazon Media, Alexa, Investor Locations: Amazon, Brazil, Mexico, Singapore, India

☆ 10 Things in Tech: Amazon’s guide to AI in different industries, Earth’s neighboring star, and workers look for less stressful jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In other news:Tech workers are searching for low stress jobs on social media. Tech workers are looking for less stressful jobs. But one Amazon worker said there's "no such thing as [a] high pay low stress job in tech." Love Love Love: Award-winning engagement photos from around the world. Email dsiu@insider.com or tweet @diamondnagasiu) Edited by Alistair Barr (tweet @alistairmbarr) in San Francisco and Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.

☆ A leaked Amazon sales playbook lays out how companies in every industry can use generative AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

It shows that Amazon expects nearly every industry and business to adopt generative AI in some form. The analysis is part of a 12-page internal document, titled "Generative AI Sales Playbook." The mainstream success of ChatGPT and other consumer apps has shown users how generative AI can improve search and productivity. Amazon's analysis shows that companies can use generative AI for even more tasks, such as drug discovery and development or misinformation governance and national security. The analysis mentions the Congressional Research Service, Hyundai, and Siemens among the companies already taking advantage of generative AI.

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