Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, known for steering the company through transformative shifts, is taking on a new challenge: the battle against inefficient meetings, per an interesting article by Bloomberg. In a recent memo to employees, Jassy outlined his strategy to streamline Amazon’s workplace culture by reducing unnecessary meetings and management layers.

This move, part of a broader effort to foster efficiency and speed within the company, underscores Jassy’s focus on cutting down on bureaucracy as Amazon prepares for its next phase of growth.

Tune in to our conversation on Amazon’s mission to eliminate inefficient meetings:

A Bold Move to Trim Bureaucracy

Jassy’s memo explicitly targets what he referred to as “pre-meetings for the pre-meetings for the decision meetings”—a common complaint in many large organizations. These redundant gatherings, according to Jassy, waste valuable time and resources, leading to slower decision-making processes. “We need to move fast, and unnecessary processes, meetings, and layers of management just slow us down,” Jassy wrote.

In line with these goals, Amazon is looking to flatten its corporate structure, a move designed to allow employees to operate with greater autonomy and agility. Jassy’s approach is not only about eliminating needless meetings but also about empowering teams to make faster, more effective decisions without excessive oversight.

The Cost of Inefficient Meetings

Amazon’s initiative comes as a growing number of companies recognize the high cost of unnecessary meetings. A study cited in Bloomberg found that big firms can waste as much as $100 million annually on pointless meetings. The pandemic’s remote work boom exacerbated this problem, as virtual meetings became a default communication tool. Now, with Amazon’s push toward a five-day return-to-office strategy in 2025, Jassy is doubling down on productivity measures that ensure employees’ time is spent on value-added work.

“Meeting overload is a sign of a deeper problem in corporate culture,” said Steven Rogelberg, an organizational psychologist and professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte who studies workplace dynamics, in the Bloomberg article. “By addressing it head-on, Jassy is sending a clear message that efficiency and agility are top priorities for Amazon’s future.”

Mixed Reactions from Experts

While many business leaders have applauded Jassy’s move, not all experts agree on the wholesale elimination of pre-meetings. Andy Molinsky, a professor of management at Brandeis International Business School, acknowledges the downsides of pre-meetings but argues that they can also provide critical preparation time. “Pre-meetings allow ideas to be vetted and refined before the main decision-making meeting, which can lead to better execution,” he said to Bloomberg. “It’s about finding the right balance—ensuring the main meeting is effective, while not completely eliminating the space to prepare.”

Jennifer Nahrgang, a professor at the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business, adds that pre-meetings often reflect a company’s culture. “If employees feel the need for multiple layers of meetings, it may signal a deeper issue of fear or a lack of trust in decision-making processes,” she notes in the article. Jassy’s efforts to flatten management and encourage a more agile, decision-oriented culture could help address these underlying issues.

Amazon’s “Bureaucracy Mailbox”

As part of his anti-bureaucracy campaign, Jassy also introduced a new initiative—the “bureaucracy mailbox.” This platform allows employees to anonymously flag processes, rules, and mechanisms that they believe should be streamlined or eliminated. It’s a move designed to foster open communication and ensure that employees at all levels of the company feel empowered to contribute to its operational efficiency.

However, some skeptics remain. Gary Hamel, co-author of Humanocracy, notes in the article that reducing bureaucracy is a challenge many companies have tackled, with varying degrees of success. “Every few years, a company goes to war with bureaucracy,” Hamel said. “But like grass in the rain, it grows back. Cutting meetings is a start, but fundamentally, bureaucracy is a mindset. Changing that requires more than trimming processes—it requires a complete cultural shift.”

A Step Toward Amazon’s “Largest Startup” Vision

Jassy’s vision for Amazon is clear: to operate as “the world’s largest startup,” combining the speed and agility of a small company with the scale and resources of a global tech giant. His commitment to cutting down on inefficient meetings and removing layers of management is just one aspect of this broader goal.

The question remains: Can Jassy succeed where other leaders have failed? Amazon, with its vast workforce of 1.5 million employees, is no stranger to bureaucracy, and cultural shifts of this magnitude take time. But with Jassy at the helm, and a clear focus on efficiency, Amazon is positioning itself to be more agile and innovative in the years to come.

Diverse Perspectives on Amazon’s Future Efficiency Push

As Amazon moves forward with Andy Jassy’s efforts to cut back on unnecessary meetings and flatten its management structure, opinions from across the business landscape highlight both optimism and caution.

Some professionals in the business community are on board with Jassy’s bold approach. John Moore commented on LinkedIn, “Many folks like using ‘yet another meeting’ to think out loud—decisions they could make on their own or by contacting stakeholders individually.” This sentiment echoes Jassy’s belief that trimming unnecessary meetings will help speed up decision-making and empower employees to work more autonomously.

Others, however, question the complete elimination of pre-meetings. Pamela Young remarked, “Pre-meetings are a necessity when you have diverse groups with differing agendas trying to address customer needs. To say you’ll ‘eliminate’ these can easily lead to confusion and disarray in front of the customer.” Her perspective suggests that some level of preparation is critical to ensuring unified messaging and clear communication.

A broader reflection on Jassy’s mission to reduce bureaucracy came from Terence Mauri, who pointed out, “Excess bureaucracy is a leadership tax. It means less time and resources for value creation and making things happen.” Mauri’s insights suggest that cutting back on bureaucracy could free up significant resources for more productive, value-driven work, but achieving this may be more challenging than expected.

Finally, experts like Gary Hamel caution that eliminating bureaucracy often proves difficult in large organizations. “Every few years, a company will go to war with bureaucracy. But like grass in the rain, it grows back,” Hamel said. He highlights the deep-rooted challenges in transforming a large organization like Amazon, questioning how far Jassy is willing to go to maintain the company’s agile culture.

As Amazon continues to evolve, only time will tell whether Jassy’s initiatives will have a lasting impact. For now, his focus on efficiency reflects a broader trend across the corporate world—cutting out unnecessary layers and meetings to unlock productivity and drive innovation.