Amazon CEO Andy Jassy Unveils New Promotion Policy at Town Hall

During a recent town hall meeting, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced a shift in the company’s promotion policy, stating that building large teams will no longer be the primary route to career advancement.

He informed employees that the e-commerce giant is "actively rethinking its approach to promotions," noting that the most effective leaders are those who "achieve the most with the fewest resources," according to a recording of the all-hands meeting obtained by Business Insider.

"Smaller teams at Amazon have had a bigger impact. The way to get ahead at Amazon is not to accumulate a giant team and fiefdom," he said.

"There's no award for having a big team. We want to be scrappy about us to do a lot more things," he added.

Jassy’s comments align with Amazon's recent move to boost the ratio of individual contributors to managers by 15%. He also pointed out that some of Amazon Web Services' most successful products were initially developed by teams of just a dozen people, emphasizing that "not every new project needs 50 or more people to execute."

The CEO also emphasized the importance of meritocracy over bureaucracy, saying, "It's not how charismatic you are. It's not whether you're really good at managing up or managing sideways. What matters is what we actually get done for customers. That is what we reward."

He also encouraged employees to "move quickly and think like owners," recognizing the fierce competition Amazon faces from "the most technically skilled and driven" companies, including startups "working 15 hours a day, seven days a week."

"What would I do if this was my company? And by the way, it is your company. This is all of our company," Jassy told the staff.