From a December 15 2018 review in the Financial Times of Seasonal Associate, a new book about work in an Amazon.com warehouse: [M]ost of us are both customers and workers, but for the former to be treated like kings, must the latter be made to bow and scrape? For Henry [continue reading . . . ]
As Amazon.com stock flirts with $1,000 a share*, here are some thoughts to ponder from the Wall Street Journal (editorial page May 19, 2017): Amazon marks 20 years as a public company this week, and if you got in on the ground floor you have a lot to celebrate. A $100 [continue reading . . . ]
Buried in yesterday’s knockout earnings report from Amazon.com is detail that will further encourage Amazon bulls but disappoint anyone trying to get a job at the Everything Store. In the quarter to the end of March, Amazon added a mere 9,600 to its army of full- and part-time employees, for [continue reading . . . ]
For a quick economic update for members of Bellevue Rotary recently, I updated several slides I usually include as a part of my talks and added a new one or two. You can download all of them as a PDF file here. Among bullet points: We live in a slow-growth world. [continue reading . . . ]
I had to return something to Amazon.com the other day. The process was simple. Amazon provided for printing at home a return label and a bar-code to include with the item. It took a minute to print them out. It took five minutes to pack. Per Amazon’s instructions, I dropped [continue reading . . . ]
Population of the Evergreen State has grown about 60% faster than the national average in first half of the decade. Only seven states have grown at a faster rate; only two of those seven have more population than Washington. International migration — people moving from other countries — accounts for [continue reading . . . ]
No one will ever accuse Amazon.com chief Jeff Bezos of stinting on investment. In five years through 2014, the company’s cumulative investment in property, plant and equipment has increased more than seven-fold, to nearly $23 billion (chart). When the books are closed on 2015, the total likely will be close [continue reading . . . ]
Reader Richard D. Shay kindly commented on my “excellent detective work” in turning up detail on Amazon’s meteoric growth. Thank you. In preparation for a recent presentation, I updated four Amazon.com charts. As I noted here, Amazon won’t disclose its Seattle-area employment. I see its footprints in data compiled by [continue reading . . . ]
The economy of the Seattle area seems as strong as it has been in my 40 years covering the economy as a financial journalist. Amazon’s voracious demand for office space is remaking downtown Seattle and South Lake Union. The pace is breathtaking, and shows no signs of abating. The company [continue reading . . . ]
Beginning in May 2010 and continuing for almost three years, aerospace employers in Washington State added to their payrolls at the rate of nearly 600 a month. Over eight months starting in April 2011, the pace of hiring was almost frantic, averaging about 900 a month, as Boeing scrambled to [continue reading . . . ]
I have four topics lined up for my stint on KUOW‘s Weekday program tomorrow. Sometimes the host sticks to the topics I suggest, some times not. Here are my bullet points: Dreamliner Blues: The grounding of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner is obviously at the top of everyone’s radar screen. I’m not [continue reading . . . ]
Three questions that we’ll know the answers to before 2013 is over: 1. Will Steve Ballmer remain in the driver’s seat at Microsoft? He’s been responsible for day-to-day operations for more than 14 years and CEO for a nice round dozen years. During his tenure, Microsoft has missed the boat [continue reading . . . ]