Coronavirus has made Amazon a public utility – so we should treat it like one Wendy Liu
over 5 years in The guardian
The tech giant has seized the opportunity to recast itself as a corporate saviour, but at the expense of its workers. It needs disrupting
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At Amazon, it’s always “day one”. Founder Jeff Bezos coined the phrase in the company’s early days, and it’s now deeply woven into the firm’s culture: it has appeared in every shareholder letter since 1997, and even adorns the building in which Bezos works. As tech reporter Alex Kantrowitz writes, “day one” means “inventing like a startup” – a call for continual improvement and innovation. Dynamism is in; complacency is out. For Bezos, “day two” is another name for death.
However, it’s not always wise to take corporate self-description at face value. Still, given the staggering speed and scale of Amazon’s growth, it’s reasonable to think that its “day one” mentality has had something to do with its success. Since it was founded in 1994, Amazon has become one of the most valuable companies in the world, with a market capitalisation of just over $1tn at time of writing. Continue reading...