Jon Stewart Once Warned Bezos That His Business Model For Workers Is A “Recipe For Revolution”

  • Jeff Bezos’ vision for the future was discussed over five years ago with the comedian Jon Stewart and President Barack Obama during a dinner at the White House. Stewart viewed it as a “recipe for revolution” and told him so.
  • “I think he views everybody as like a part of a fulfillment center,” Stewart explained. “And so I said, ‘I think that’s a recipe for revolution.’… And then you hear Obama from across the couch go, ‘I agree with Jon.'”
  • Criticism of Amazon’s business model has exploded in recent years as workers have begun to speak out about the grueling schedules and often humiliating conditions.

Avery Hartmans from Insider writes:

“Jeff Bezos’ vision for the future has made him one of the richest people, but the comedian Jon Stewart sees it as a “recipe for revolution” — and he once told Bezos as much.

In an episode of the podcast “The Problem With Jon Stewart” published this month, Stewart described meeting Bezos at a dinner at the White House with President Barack Obama, then-first lady Michelle Obama, the billionaire Mark Cuban, and an unnamed guest whom Stewart described as the “inventor of the Oculus” virtual-reality headset.

Stewart said Bezos discussed what he saw as the economy of the future, one that would rely on service workers to perform tasks. Stewart said he told Bezos he disagreed, adding that people wanted to feel proud of their work and like they were contributing to society, not just “running errands for people that have more than you.”

“I think he views everybody as like a part of a fulfillment center,” Stewart said. “And so I said, ‘I think that’s a recipe for revolution.’ And then, like, kind of a hush falls over. And then you hear Obama from across the couch go, ‘I agree with Jon.'”

While the dinner Stewart described was at least five years ago, criticism of the Amazon founder and his company’s business model has ramped up in recent years as employees have increasingly spoken out about grueling working conditions and an intense focus on meeting lofty goals, all in the name of Amazon’s “customer-obsessed” culture…”

See full story here.



Categories: Business, Economy, Labor, Politics, Society

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