In response to monopoly doubts, MGM's acquisition of the project, and presided over the shareholders meeting for the last time, Bezos said this...

In February of this year, Amazon announced that Jeff Bezos (Jeff Bezos) would step down as CEO of Amazon. At the 2021 annual shareholder meeting held this Wednesday, Bezos announced that he would formally resign as CEO on July 5, which happens to be the 27th anniversary of the founding of Amazon. The successor is Andy Jassy, the head of cloud computing, and Bezos assured investors that Andy Jassy is capable of fulfilling this position.

After stepping down as CEO, Bezos will serve as executive chairman of Amazon, focusing on new projects and initiatives. Bezos previously stated in a statement: "As the executive chairman, I will continue to participate in important Amazon activities. At the same time, I will devote more time and energy to the Day One Fund, Bezos Earth Foundation, Blue Color Origin, The Washington Post and other projects.”

What did Bezos say when presiding over the shareholders meeting for the last time?

This is the last shareholder meeting that Bezos has participated in as the CEO of Amazon. At the meeting, he emphasized the achievements of Amazon in the past year, while also admitting that it faces many challenges.

When asked "Amazon has become so large and diverse now, is there any difficulty in innovation", Bezos said that under the leadership of the new CEO Jassy, Amazon will have to carry out some issues that cannot guarantee a 100% success rate. New projects include Amazon Care telemedicine services and Kuiper satellite Internet projects.

Bezos said: "All of these are huge investments and there are risks... But the only way to get an above-average return is to take risks, although many will fail. The entire history of Amazon is full of risks, many of which have failed. Many will fail, but we will continue to take risks.”

At this meeting, Amazon shareholders voted to reject 11 proposals submitted by outsiders. These proposals cover multiple topics such as employee safety, recruitment policies, the application of facial recognition technology, and climate change. The voting data was not announced at the shareholders meeting, and Amazon will announce the details in the regulatory documents as usual.

Healthy competition

In the question-and-answer session at the end of the meeting, Bezos was asked to respond to criticism that Amazon has become too big and too strong. Bezos refuted this statement, saying that Amazon faces fierce competition in every industry it operates, including its core retail business.

Bezos said: "Consumers can shop online and offline at dozens of large national retailers, hundreds of regional retailers, and hundreds of thousands of small retailers. This is a very healthy industry, far from being a winner-takes-all. In the current situation, Amazon is still a small part of the retail industry.”

For the IT industry in which Amazon competes through cloud computing services, Bezos believes that healthy competition continues to exist in this industry. He said: "We are facing competition from established companies such as Google, Oracle and Microsoft, as well as competition from successful upstarts such as Snowflake and Twilio. They are doing very well and developing very fast."

Just a day ago, the attorney general of Washington, DC, sued Amazon, accusing it of engaging in anti-competitive behavior, raising consumer shopping prices and inhibiting innovation. The company also faces ongoing investigations by multiple federal agencies, state attorneys general and European antitrust regulators.

Regarding regulators’ doubts about Amazon’s monopoly on retail, Bezos said that consumers have far fewer choices in other markets. "Think about mobile operating systems. Can you think of any successful, small, fast-growing mobile operating systems? Where are they? Can you give examples? They don't exist."

Acquisition

Bezos was also asked to comment on Amazon's $8.45 billion acquisition of MGM Pictures, which was announced a few hours before the opening of the shareholders meeting on Wednesday.

For Amazon, the acquisition of the Hollywood studio behind James Bond films will provide the company with better tools to meet the needs of its more than 200 million Prime members while attracting new members.

MGM can also improve Amazon's ability to produce original movies and TV shows. Amazon's film and television division "Amazon Studios" has previously produced a number of popular films, including "Manchester by the Sea" and "The Great Mrs. Maisel", but it is still a long way from established companies such as Netflix and Disney.

Bezos said that in addition to "James Bond", MGM also owns a large number of classic works, such as "Angry Bull", "Robocop" and "Handmaid's Tale", so Amazon bought MGM's reason It's not difficult to understand.

Bezos said: "MGM has a lot of well-loved IP. With the talents of MGM and Amazon Studios, Amazon can reimagine and develop IP for the 21st century. This will be an interesting job. People who love stories will be the biggest beneficiaries.”

Shareholder activism

Amazon's annual shareholder meeting has become a place for employees, investors, and rights activists to discuss a series of hot topics. This year is no exception. A number of shareholder resolutions proposed that the company take action on issues such as climate change, labor conditions, the use of facial recognition technology, and racial and gender differences in the labor force.

An Amazon warehouse in Alabama previously voted on whether to form a union, but it ultimately failed. Two workers in the warehouse submitted shareholder proposals, but both were rejected. Darryl Richardson supports investigations into Amazon's impact on racial equality, and Jennifer Bates proposed to elect a warehouse worker to Amazon's board of directors. Bates believes that hourly workers can add a valuable perspective to Amazon's board of directors, while also giving voice to their employees.

Last year's Amazon shareholders meeting also raised the topic of working conditions. During the new crown virus pandemic, Amazon warehouse workers expressed concerns about labor safety, and this issue has received high attention both inside and outside Amazon.

Alicia Boler Davis, Amazon’s vice president of global customer delivery, defended the company’s treatment of employees: “Although critics can easily portray ruthless employers and poor working conditions, the reality is very different.” Davis said, Amazon is committed to "Let employees do the right thing."

Reference link: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/26/jeff-bezos-final-shareholder-meeting-as-amazon-ceo-highlights-.html