>>> EMPTY STORE SHELVES HAVE LED TO A MASSIVE SURGE IN AMAZON
ORDERS FOR GROCERY ITEMS,
CLEANING PRODUCTS AND BASIC
STAPLES.
STAPLES. TO KEEP UP, THE COMPANY
ANNOUNCED IT’S HIRING 100,000
NEW DISTRIBUTION WORKERS, BUT
THE COMPANY ITSELF, OF COURSE IS
NOT IMMUNE FROM THE CORONAVIRUS
EITHER.
EITHER. AMAZON IS TEMPORARILY CLOSING A
NEW YORK DELIVERY STATION AFTER
ONE OF ITS WORKERS TESTED
POSITIVE FOR THE VIRUS.
JOINING UJAY CARNEY, AMAZON’S
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT GLOBAL
CORPORATE AFFAIRS AND FORMER
PRESS SECRETARY UNDER PRESIDENT
OBAMA.
OBAMA. YOU KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE ON THE
OUTSIDE AND THE INSIDE.
AMAZON COULD BE, AT THIS POINT,
THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPANY IN
AMERICA FOR EVERYDAY AMERICANS
TO GET US STUFF.
WHAT MEASURES ARE YOU PUTTING IN
PLACE TO MAKE SURE YOU DON’T GO
DOWN?
DOWN? >> WELL, FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE
ARE FOLLOWING W.H.O. AND CDC
GUIDELINES IN OUR FULFILLMENT
CENTERS WHICH ARE OUR WAREHOUSES
AND DISTRIBUTION CENTERS TO
ENSURE THAT SOCIAL DISTANCING IS
HAPPENING, THAT EXTRA DEEP
CLEANING IS HAPPENING.
THAT OUR EMPLOYEES AREN’T
CONGREGATING UNNECESSARILY.
CONGREGATING UNNECESSARILY. SO THAT THEY CAN GO ABOUT THE
BUSINESS OF SERVING OUR
CUSTOMERS WHO, AS YOU MENTIONED,
ARE MORE IN NEED THAN EVER OF
DELIVERY TO THEIR DOORSTEP OF
ESSENTIAL ITEMS.
ESSENTIAL ITEMS. HOUSEHOLD STAPLES, MEDICAL
SUPPLIES, MEDICINES AND STUFF
LIKE THAT.
LIKE THAT. WE’RE VERY MINDFUL OF THE FACT
WE’RE IN A UNIQUE POSITION HERE
THAT WE’VE BECOME ESSENTIALLY AN
ESSENTIAL SERVICE TO CUSTOMERS
AROUND THE COUNTRY AND THE
WORLD.
WORLD. THAT’S WHY WE’RE HIRING MORE
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE. WE KNOW THAT’S UNUSUAL IN A
CIRCUMSTANCE WHERE SO MANY
COMPANIES ARE HAVING TO CLOSE
THEIR DOORS AND LAY OFF WORKERS.
WE WANT TO INVITE FOLKS WHO HAVE
BEEN LAID OFF OR FURLOUGHED TO
COME WORK FOR AMAZON FOR A
TEMPORARY PERIOD OF TIME SO THAT
THEY CAN EARN A PAYCHECK UNTIL
THEIR OLD JOBS COME BACK.
AND HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, FOR THE
COUNTRY, FOR THE WORLD, THIS
WON’T LAST TOO LONG.
>> LET’S TALK ABOUT -- LISTEN,
IT WOULD BE GREAT.
YOU’RE HIRING 100,000 PEOPLE TO
HELP YOU WITH THE BUSINESS
THAT’S ONE OF THE MOST
SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSES IN THE
WORLD.
WORLD. AMAZON MADE $70 BILLION LAST
YEAR.
YEAR. BESIDES HELPING US IN A WAY THAT
HELPS YOU IN TERMS OF YOUR
PROFITABILITY, WHAT CAN YOU AS A
COMPANY DO TO ACTUALLY HELP
RIGHT NOW?
RIGHT NOW? >> WELL, FIRST OF ALL, WE, IN
ADDITION TO HIRING PEOPLE AND
RAISING WAGES, WHICH WE’VE DONE.
OUR MINIMUM WAGE IS NOW $17 AN
HOUR DURING THIS PERIOD WHICH
IS, AS YOU KNOW, WELL OVER
DOUBLE THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE,
WE ARE ALSO DOING THINGS LIKE
LAUNCHING AN AMAZON RELIEF FUND
WHICH GIVES LOANS AND FINANCIAL
ASSISTANCE TO OUR DELIVERY
SERVICE PROVIDERS AND OUR AMAZON
FLEX DRIVERS.
FLEX DRIVERS. WE’RE PAYING ALL OF OUR
JANITORIAL AND OTHER SUPPORT
SERVICE CONTRACTORS IN OUR
HEADQUARTERS BUILDINGS, EVEN
THOUGH THEY’RE NOT COMING INTO
WORK.
WORK. WE’RE PROVIDING SUBSIDIZED RENT
TO THE SMALL BUSINESSES, THE
RESTAURANTS AND THINGS THAT
LOCATE IN OUR BUILDINGS BUT ARE
OUT OF WORK RIGHT NOW.
AND WE’RE DOING THINGS LIKE AWS,
AS I KNOW YOU KNOW, OUR CLOUD
SERVICES -- CLOUD COMPUTING
SERVICES COMPANY HAS LAUNCHED
THIS MORNING SOMETHING CALLED
THE AWS DIAGNOSTIC DEVELOPMENT
INITIATIVE WHICH IS $20 MILLION
TO HELP SPUR RESEARCH,
INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF
POINT OF SERVICE DIAGNOSIS FOR
COVID-19.
COVID-19. AS YOU KNOW, DIAGNOSIS AND
TESTING IS A REAL BOTTLENECK.
AWS HAS ENORMOUS CAPACITY WHEN
IT COMES TO CLOUD COMPUTING,
MACHINE LEARNING AND THE LIKE.
WE’RE GOING TO MAKE THOSE
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE APPROPRIATE
RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS AND
SCIENTISTS TO HELP MOVE THIS
ALONG.
ALONG. >> HAVE YOU CONSIDERED ANYTHING
FROM A PHILANTHROPIC STANDPOINT?
WHEN YOU THINK WHO CAN GET
SUPPLIES BETTER THAN ANYONE, WHO
CAN FIND THE SUPPLIES, IT’S
AMAZON.
AMAZON. EVERY DAY WE’RE HEARING ABOUT
MORE AND MORE HOSPITALS THAT
DON’T HAVE BASIC PROTECTIVE
GEAR.
GEAR. HAS AMAZON CONSIDERED STEPPING
IN AND DONATING THOSE MASKS AND
GOWNS AND SOURCING THEM FOR ALL
THOSE HOSPITALS OR POSSIBLY GET
A COMPUTER TO EVERY KID IN
AMERICA.
AMERICA. THEY’RE GOING TO BE HOME
SCHOOLED INDEFINITELY.
SCHOOLED INDEFINITELY. >> SURE.
>> SURE. WE’RE LOOKING -- WE MEET EVERY
DAY AS A LEADERSHIP WITH THE
BUSINESS LEADERS, JEFF BEZOS,
PEOPLE LIKE ME, AND GO OVER
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OUR
BUSINESS OPERATIONS.
BUSINESS OPERATIONS. AND THEN MOVE TO BRAINSTORMING
ABOUT IDEAS THAT FOCUSES ON WAYS
WE CAN HELP NOT ONLY OUR
CUSTOMERS BUT EMPLOYEES AND
OTHER PEOPLE.
OTHER PEOPLE. WE HAVE A PROGRAM CALLED AMAZON
FUTURE ENGINEER.
FUTURE ENGINEER. WE JUST ANNOUNCED WE’RE
PROVIDING FREE ONLINE COMPUTER
CLASSES FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL AND
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.
>> NO, I MEAN RIGHT NOW IN THIS
TIME OF CRISIS.
>> RIGHT, RIGHT NOW WE’RE
OFFERING THOSE SERVICES.
>> COULD YOU BE --
>> SURE.
>> SURE. >> -- PROVIDING ALL OF THE
EQUIPMENT THAT THE MASKS, THE
GOWNS.
GOWNS. COULD YOU DO THAT?
>> IT’S ALL -- WE ARE
PRIORITIZING MEDICAL SUPPLIES,
MASKS AND THE LIKE FOR HEALTH
CARE INSTITUTIONS, HOSPITALS.
AS YOU KNOW, THERE’S BEEN AN
ENORMOUS SHORTAGE.
ENORMOUS SHORTAGE. WE’VE DONATED QUITE A BIT OF
SUPPLIES AND PROVIDED IN-KIND
SERVICES.
SERVICES. OUR CHALLENGE IS GETTING OUR
SUPPLIERS TO GET THAT PRODUCT TO
US, WHICH IS WHY IN OUR
FULFILLMENT IS CENTERS, WHILE
EVERYTHING REMAINS FOR SALE
THAT’S FOR SALE ON AMAZON.COM,
WE’RE PRIORITIZING THE INTAKE
AND SHIPMENT OF MEDICAL
SUPPLIES, GOWNS, MASKS, HAND