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5 challenges awaiting Amazon’s new CEO

FILE - In this April 9, 2020, file photo, employees observe social distancing due to coronavirus, at the entrance of Amazon, in Douai, northern France. Amazon announced Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021, that Jeff Bezos would step down as CEO later in the year, leaving a role he's had since founding the company nearly 30 years ago. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler, File) FILE - In this April 9, 2020, file photo, employees observe social distancing due to coronavirus, at the entrance of Amazon, in Douai, northern France. Amazon announced Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021, that Jeff Bezos would step down as CEO later in the year, leaving a role he's had since founding the company nearly 30 years ago. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler, File)

By JOSEPH PISANI and ANNE D'INNOCENZIO / AP Retail Writers February 6, 2021 7 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – In 1995, few could imagine that the modest online bookstore built by Jeff Bezos would turn into a $1.7 trillion behemoth that sells everything from diapers to sofas, produces movies, owns a grocery chain and provides cloud computing services to businesses all over the globe.

Amazon has become all of that and more, and now it will be up to Andy Jassy to lead the company forward as CEO.

On Tuesday, Amazon announced that Bezos would step aside this summer and assume the role of executive chairman so he can focus on new products and early initiatives being developed at Amazon.

Although Bezos is expected to still play a big role at the company, it is Jassy who will inherit the many challenges born from Amazon’s meteoric rise. Here are some of them:

GROWING SCRUTINY