Amazon CEO Andy Jassytold employees that building large teams and personal fiefdoms is not the path to advancement at the company, emphasizing instead that the e-commerce giant rewards those who accomplish more with fewer resources. Jassy’s comments came during a recent all-hands meeting asJassycontinues his push to reduce management layers and bureaucracy across the organization.
According to a recording of the Tuesday meeting obtained by Business Insider, Jassy stated explicitly: “The way to get ahead at Amazon is not to go accumulate a giant team and fiefdom. There’s no award for having a big team.” He reminded staff that some of AWS’s most successful products began with teams of only about a dozen people.
The CEO highlighted Amazon’s commitment to operating with the agility of “the world’s largest startup” despite its size. This initiative includes a recently completed effort to increase the ratio of individual contributors to managers by 15% across the company. Rather than massive layoffs, Amazon achieved this goal by combining teams and moving some managers intoindividual contributor roles.
Jassy also stressed the importance of meritocracy over bureaucracy in Amazon’s corporate culture. He mentioned reviewing more than a thousand employee emails sent to a dedicated “No Bureaucracy” alias, which has already resulted in 375 process improvements.
The Amazon chief urged employees to “move fast and act like owners,” noting the company faces intense competition from both established tech giants and hungry startups “working seven days a week, 15 hours a day.” Jassy emphasized that customer impact—not charisma or political skill—is what earns rewards at Amazon.
“What matters is what we actually get done for customers. That is what we reward. It’s a meritocracy,” Jassy said, encouraging employees to remain “hyper-aware” of industry trends and innovative technologies beyond Amazon.