One of the most common “motivational” posts I have seen online while growing up had a collage of 6 garages, which apparently were the starting points for future multi-billion-pound companies. Along with this narrative, there has also been a rise in the fetishization of the quasi-rags-to-riches story, where the success of many of these big tech companies like Amazon, is somehow supposed to instill a sense of inspiration and desire to succeed inside us. But unfortunately, most, if not all of these garage stories, were weaved to suit a digestible marketing strategy. Nothing else.
Jeff Bezos was always a shrewd businessman, even before he started building his kingdom and gradually consolidating his power to reach the top of the business world. Earlier this month, he announced that he was stepping down from his role as CEO of Amazon, but would now be the Executive Chair of Amazon. Ever since the news broke, stats were going around as to how Facebook is the only company among the “Big Five” that still has its founder as the CEO, and how the rest are “not being run by their founders anymore”. Some even started expressing opinions about how we are nearing the end of the founder-CEO era in Big Tech.
Unfortunately, this might make many of us suddenly oblivious to all the labor exploitation he has overseen at Amazon over the years, and how he is still up there among the richest people on the planet. What gets lost in these superficial discussions is the fact that Bezos is not going anywhere. In his current position, he is as capable of making decisions and controlling his empire as when he was the CEO, and there is not even the slightest indication that Andy Jassy, his successor is going to play his cards any differently.
If anything, this move will only help Bezos shift the spotlight off him at least temporarily, so that he can concentrate on his other projects like Blue Origin, The Washington Post, Bezos Family Foundation, Bezos Earth Fund, and Day 1 Fund. Now, if any of us are going to believe that this would mean a disruption to the system of ill-treatment and labor violations that he has cultivated at Amazon, then we are all in for a surprise, sooner than later.
When such a seemingly trivial event which in no way entails any major consequences, unfurls and almost immediately becomes a newsworthy item, it is an indicator of the incredible power that the person wields today. This is exacerbated by the fact that people are jubilant over Bezos stepping down when Amazon continues to be the worst tax offender among the top six US tech companies. These don’t come as a surprise if one considers recent reports, where the Federal Trade Commission revealed that Amazon has been withholding drivers’ tips (read: stealing drivers’ money) and only stopped taking the contracted drivers’ tips after becoming aware of the FTC investigation. Equating Bezos’s legacy to exploitation would not be hyperbolic at all.
Once we buy into the illusion that Jeff Bezos ceases to be responsible for Amazon just because of this hollow charade, he is getting enough protection to not be the subject of any new scathing criticism, similar to what he has come under recently for Amazon’s anti-competitive practices, its deep ties with policing, disregarding Covid-19 guidelines, and many more from the long list of allegations the company has been the subject of since its inception.
If anything, this is only a diversion to take our eyes away from all the abuses, thefts, and human rights infringements, which is going to continue if significant changes are not introduced concerning tax reforms, worker’s rights protections, anti-trust policies, and general consumer awareness, to say the least.
It seems like Amazon’s commitment towards smiles lasts only till its logo.