Holly Sullivan and John Schoettler

While the headlines for Amazon have been somewhat discouraging in 2023 — it laid off 27,000 corporate workers, restructured its warehouse footprint, paused the rollout of Amazon Fresh stores, and delayed construction of parts of HQ2 in Arlington, Va. — the e-commerce giant’s revenue still grew 9 percent annually in the first quarter and there are plenty of other positives.

After all, a company operating at Amazon’s scale will always face challenges, but it has excelled at being flexible and creative, pivoting where necessary.

“While our offices have been open and more and more people have been using them, our real estate teams have done a tremendous job preparing our global offices for the return of our employees,” said John Schoettler. “We’ve had to pivot and get creative with our space, and it’s been a hugely rewarding experience watching our teams succeed at creating work environments that are simultaneously welcoming while providing space for employees to collaborate, innovate and invent on behalf of our customers.”

Through its Housing Equity Fund, Amazon has committed more than $1.6 billion since 2021 to create and preserve more than 12,000 affordable homes in the Puget Sound region in Washington state, as well as in Arlington, Va., and Nashville. While the fund is still actively deploying resources, in 2023 Amazon will start seeing more of these projects come online. The upcoming opening of Met Park this June at its second headquarters in Northern Virginia will be a significant milestone as well, as it’s brought more than 8,000 corporate and tech jobs to the area.

“We’re excited about HQ2 and providing employees with not only thoughtfully designed work spaces but also amenity floors and cafes that promote socialization, an Expressions Lab that fosters creativity, 50,000 square feet of retail that prioritizes small, locally owned businesses, public art installations, two dog runs, a playground, a public central green and more,” said Holly Sullivan, who organized the search for the company’s second headquarters. 

Amazon is guided by four principles, Schoettler noted: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, a commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking.

“Even through economic uncertainty, our north star is being Earth’s most customer-centric company,” he said. “This customer obsession is what has helped transform Amazon into the company that it is today and what will ultimately propel us into the future.”