Amazon is poaching a slew of employees from the Federal Trade Commission because it prepares for an epic antitrust fight with the US agency, On The Money sources have said.
The Seattle-based networking giant – which is most frequently accused of soliciting third-party vendors to make use of its logistics network – has already hired a few dozen former FTC officials, sources near the situation say.
“Should you’re preparing for war, hiring individuals who have worked for the opposing army is a superb method to gather intelligence,” Jeff Hauser, founder of the Revolving Door Project, told On The Money.
Some of the officials acquired by Amazon include former FTC attorney Brian Huseman, who runs the Amazon policy store, former FTC attorney on the Office of
On the one hand, insiders say Amazon’s hiring spree was facilitated by FTC Chair Lina Khan.
As previously reported by The Post, there was a mass exodus of disgruntled employees who say he’s a “tyrant” with an “abusive” management style.
![Amazon has already hired about a dozen former FTC officials, sources close to the situation say.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/amazon-ftc.gif?w=600)
These people add that Khan – a 34-year-old attorney prodigy who wrote her dissertation on antitrust concerns surrounding Amazon – disregarded many employees and spent far less time with them than the previous FTC chairman.
Indeed, while it is not uncommon practice in “industries that feel under siege to rent agencies,” employees who feel unappreciated by the present regime are rather more more likely to leave, in line with William Kovacic, a professor at George Washington University who was chairman FTC from 2008 to 2009.
“If individuals are dissatisfied with leadership, it makes you more willing to hearken to offers,” Kovacic said, adding that Khan had done nothing to make FTC employees feel valued.
“The message to the staff was that you just did a terrible job,” Kovacic said.
Nevertheless, the sheer number of Amazon employees also shows how seriously it takes threats from the FTC. The agency has already hit Amazon with three lawsuits and is predicted to file an antitrust suit searching for to interrupt up the corporate inside weeks. Bloomberg Report.
![FTC Chair Lina Khan](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NYPICHPDPICT000010246828-2.jpg?w=1024)
“The FTC is threatening to interrupt up Amazon: it gets their attention and they are going to spend whatever it takes,” Kovacic said. “That does not imply they’ll win, nevertheless it’s the difference between reading a Manhattan guidebook and getting insight from an insider telling you where to eat and what to order on the menu.”
Indeed, what Amazon is paying for is insight into the inner workings and internal policies of the FTC, the previous regulator added.
“Even when I do not let you know anything in regards to the lawsuit, I can offer you some insight into the important thing players who make the selections, the mood of the agency, the prevailing approach to law enforcement, the general sense of how stretched the agency is in its use of resources, and the various people they will deploy on the case,” said Kovacic.
“It’s know-how that may only be learned on site and could be very precious to the corporate.”
Meanwhile, Hauser of the Revolving Door Project believes the FTC has turn into a “losing institution.”
“It attracts individuals who don’t mind a lenient consumer regulator,” Hauser said. “It gives you insight into how many individuals within the FTC don’t share Chair Lina Khan’s zeal for implementing the law.”
last week, The FTC sued Amazon over claims it has “deceived tens of millions of consumers into unknowingly signing up for Amazon Prime.”
The lawsuit also alleges that the corporate knowingly made it difficult for consumers to cancel their subscriptions after they signed up.
However the worst is more likely to come because the FTC prepares for an antitrust lawsuit.
Some speculate that the agency will seek to force the spin-off of Amazon’s lucrative Web Services unit or divestment of its logistics business, and even pull out of major acquisitions resembling MGM and Whole Foods.
There are actually laws that prevent someone working on an FTC case against Amazon from going on to the tech giant – employees working on a case should take garden leave.
Other former FTC employees who moved to Amazon include former FTC senior lawyer Andi Arias, now a general counsel; former legal expert at Meghan Iorianni’s Competition Office who’s now Senior Policy Adviser; former FTC lawyer Brian Berggren, now a general counsel; and a former attorney on the Competition Office of Elisa Kantor Perelman, currently a senior corporate advisor.
Other recent Amazon hires include former FTC antitrust lawyer Stelios Xenakis, who’s now a company advisor; former FTC Legal Counsel Pallavi Guniganti, now Senior Public Policy Officer; and former anticompetitive practices attorney Aaron Ross, who’s now general counsel.
Former FTC economist Joseph Breedlove is now a senior manager of economics, litigation and regulatory affairs at Amazon.
Former FTC worker Natasha Sivananjaiah is now a general counsel.
Former attorney Scott Fitzgerald is now Senior Corporate Litigation and Regulatory Advisor at Amazon.
Amazon declined to comment.