Jeff Bezos gives critics short shrift, insisting Amazon will chart its own path
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has issued a belated retort to a highly critical piece published in the New York Times last August, by conceding that the company might not always have the best approach.
Breaking cover via a note to investors Bezos wrote: “We never claim that our approach is the right one — just that it’s ours — and over the last two decades, we’ve collected a large group of like-minded people.”
The Times had alleged, amongst other things, that a competitive corporate culture at Amazon had caused some employees to break down in tears whilst at the office but Bezos defended Amazon’s model.
Without explicitly mentioning The Times article nor formally admitting having got anything wrong Bezos, implying that anyone who didn’t like Amazon’s workplace culture should move as Amazon itself would not be changing.
He wrote: “Someone energized by competitive zeal may select and be happy in one culture, while someone who loves to pioneer and invent may choose another.”