Jeff Bezos decides to step down as CEO of Amazon in Q3 2021. Credit: Dan Farber.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has decided to step down as CEO of the e-commerce giant and become executive chairman starting this third quarter of 2021.

Bezos has been serving in that role since he founded the company in 1994.

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With the new role, Bezos aims to stay engaged in crucial company initiatives while also focusing on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin and The Washington Post.

In an email statement to employees, Jeff Bezos said: “Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it’s consuming. When you have a responsibility like that, it’s hard to put attention on anything else.

“In the Exec Chair role, I intend to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives. Andy is well known inside the company and has been at Amazon almost as long as I have. He will be an outstanding leader, and he has my full confidence.”

Andy Jassy, who currently leads Amazon Web Service team (AWS), will take on the CEO role.

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The transition announcement comes along with Amazon’s financial results for the fourth quarter ended 31 December.

The company reported $386.1bn in sales in 2020, up 38% from 2019, while net income almost doubled to $21.3bn.

Amazon currently employs 1.3 million people who serve hundreds of millions of customers and businesses across the world.

In a separate development, the Delhi High Court in India froze Future Group’s sale of retail assets to Reliance Industries (RIL). It follows after Amazon raised objections to the $3.4bn deal.

In October, Amazon reportedly launched legal proceedings against Indian retailer Future Group for allegedly breaching the terms of a non-compete contract.