00:00The U.S. economy is continuing to evolve, driven by massive investments in infrastructure, technology, and workforce development.
00:09As companies scale innovation and expand access, communities are feeling the impact across the country.
00:15Joining us now for more on all of this is Holly Sullivan, Vice President of Worldwide Economic Development Policy at
00:22Amazon.
00:22Thank you so much for being here, Holly.
00:25Great to be here. Thanks for having me.
00:27Of course. There's so much to talk about here.
00:30Just to start off, can you give us an overview of Amazon's 2025 U.S. Economic Impact Report for all
00:36of us to start thinking about what you guys have been looking at here?
00:40Yeah, so on a high level in 2025, we invested more than $340 billion in the U.S. economy.
00:49That also includes creating 2 million jobs.
00:53Some of those are direct jobs. And then, of course, we have the 1 million indirect jobs in total.
01:01Yeah, that's just incredible to think about how many jobs that you guys have created with all of that.
01:06Where is the rest of that capital being deployed most effectively?
01:10Because, again, more than $300 billion, I think $340 billion is a lot.
01:15So where is the rest of that capital being deployed most effectively across the country?
01:20Yes, and to put that into context, since 2010, we've invested $1.8 trillion in the U.S. economy.
01:27And it's things in, like, our infrastructure, whether it be for our fulfillment network or our data centers, employee compensation,
01:33and those capital investments that we're making for our customers.
01:39Yeah, because you mentioned some of the infrastructure projects.
01:41I know you guys do a lot of these projects all across the country.
01:45What are some of the most significant, either current ones or upcoming U.S. infrastructure projects that Amazon's working on?
01:52Yeah, so we're continuing to invest in our fulfillment center network, which, you know, everything from our larger Amazon robotic
01:59fulfillment centers to our smaller delivery stations.
02:02You know, AI infrastructure with our data centers is also a very important key component of that continued infrastructure investment.
02:10We're also investing in new technologies like our drone deliveries and LEO, which is our low-Earth satellites for broadband
02:17internet.
02:18Yeah, talk to us a little bit more about how you're modernizing your supply chain, because, obviously, you guys are
02:24a leader in delivery optimization and so many other new forms of delivery that we're seeing rolling out across the
02:30country.
02:31So, talk to us a little bit more about how the company is modernizing its supply chain to meet growing
02:36demand and also improve efficiency as well.
02:39We're doing several things.
02:41Some of that will include, you know, more Amazon robotics within our facilities.
02:46We've invested $2 billion in employee safety over the last several years.
02:50The other thing that we're doing is we're investing in that rural delivery network.
02:54$4 billion invested for rural delivery network.
02:58And what that means to those rural customers is 50% faster shipping times.
03:02Our goal is to make sure that every customer can receive those items in two days or less.
03:09Yeah, that's incredible to think about how fast that could actually get to people in places where, you know, I'm
03:15in New York City.
03:16So, for me, those packages come so quickly.
03:18But for people who are in more rural areas, it's incredible to think about how that could actually be optimized
03:23to help them.
03:24What other kind of product selection or price changes, alterations, do you do for underserved or rural communities?
03:32Well, we're always, again, working backwards from that customer and trying to understand what are those essential items that our
03:38customers need.
03:39You know, you're based in New York City.
03:40So, we have our sub-same-day delivery.
03:43So, you can get things in Prime Now.
03:46You can get things within an hour of those essential items in New York City.
03:50We want to make sure those rural customers can have the same great selection as our more urban customers.
03:54So, we're going to continue to make that investment, understand what those in-demand items are.
04:00I was recently in Montana, where the University of Montana is, and walking through one of our rural delivery facilities
04:07that's also being able to deliver those items on the same day.
04:12So, think about those college students that might need, you know, some paper towels and those essential items.
04:17We can get that straight to their apartment or dormitory within a few hours.
04:21Yeah, it's amazing to think about.
04:23What are the biggest challenges you face when you are trying to roll out fulfillment centers in places, again, that
04:29maybe have a little bit less infrastructure?
04:30Because, obviously, you know, in your hubs, in your big cities, it's going to be a much different game than
04:36in the middle of the country and some other more rural areas.
04:40Well, when we're going through that site selection process, we want to make sure that we're listening to the community.
04:45We want to partner with the community.
04:46So, if there are some challenges or opportunities, how do we partner together, whether that be investing in infrastructure together
04:53or investing in that long-term talent pipeline?
04:56We are investing $2.5 billion right now, Future Ready 2030.
05:02And what that is, it's investment in that education and skills training to ensure that there are career pathways for
05:08everyone, not only working within Amazon, but also in the community.
05:13Yeah, there are so many programs that you do and so many jobs that you bring to the community and
05:17so many people who get excited about all of this.
05:20But then you also have the people who scrutinize the company, who are looking at political pressures, at other business
05:25practices.
05:26So, how does Amazon deal with the pushback from some customers or some communities that you might get in some
05:31of these places?
05:33You know, we want to take that feedback.
05:35We want, you know, being vocally self-critical and getting that feedback only makes us innovate more efficiently and be
05:41better.
05:43One of the things that we've recently done is we partnered with Oxford Economics to do a study.
05:48And the question was, what does it mean when Amazon comes to town?
05:52And what we have found is five years after we open a fulfillment center in the region where we locate,
05:58there's 5% new business formation, 12,000 fewer unemployed individuals, and an increase in those average weekly wages of
06:082.5%.
06:09So, it's not just those direct jobs that Amazon's adding, which we pay an average salary of $23 an hour,
06:16day one benefits, and then we have educational programs also, such as our career choice program.
06:22It's that ripple impact on those local and regional economies that continues to make that positive impact.
06:30Incredible to think about all of the different changes that you guys are making.
06:34And one of those changes is obviously with AI.
06:36So, you mentioned that before, AI coming into all companies, all aspects of our life.
06:41Tell us a little bit more about how Amazon uses AI and automation to reshape your workforce and also the
06:47future of job creation.
06:50So, we use AI in really everything we do.
06:53It's going to, you know, it's evolving as part of our daily opportunities, whether to create efficiencies or those new
06:59technologies and innovation.
07:01And we're stubborn on it.
07:03We want to make sure that the U.S. is a leader in that AI technology and that Amazon is
07:08being able to bring that to our customers to support small businesses, to support K312 education.
07:13And in order for us to do that, we're going to continue investing in our data center infrastructure so we
07:18can make sure that this country is the forefront of those new technologies.
07:22And when you talk about all of these new technologies and all of this innovation, one thing that a lot
07:26of people get excited about is drone delivery.
07:29So, tell us a little bit more about the drone delivery process that you guys are in now, rolling that
07:33out, where that stands.
07:36Very excited about drone technology.
07:38We are a forefront and a leader in that.
07:40And, of course, you know, working with the FAA and the local communities and our customers.
07:47Our customers are always asking, how can we get those essential products more efficiently and faster?
07:52And drone technology is just one of those tools we're going to continue to use in those communities.
07:57We have several states that we're doing drone delivery right now, and it's going great.
08:02Yeah, it's so interesting to see how that's going to play out and how that will really help people get
08:07things so much faster in such a more efficient way.
08:09With over 150 million Americans relying on Amazon, how is the company thinking about future growth and expansion as you
08:16move forward?
08:18We're going to continue investing in that infrastructure, whether it be within our fulfillment network, our logistics network, and our
08:24data center infrastructure,
08:25just to make sure we're raising the bar and delivering for our customers and exceeding those expectations.
08:31Amazing. Well, thank you so much, Holly Sullivan, VP of Worldwide Economic Development Policy at Amazon.
08:36We really appreciate you taking the time today.
08:39And thank you so much. Have a great day.
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