Tech

Amazon to employees: New health plan will take 'a considerable amount of time'

Key Points
  • Amazon announced a major health-care partnership deal with Berkshire Hathaway and JP Morgan Chase on Tuesday.
  • In a company-wide email announcing the deal, Amazon told its employees that "nothing is changing" with its current health-care plan.
  • It also said that the goal is to "improve healthcare for all of our U.S. employees and reduce costs."
Amazon, Berkshire and JPMorgan Chase to partner on health-care
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Amazon, Berkshire and JPMorgan Chase to partner on health-care

Amazon's new health-care partnership with Berkshire Hathaway and J.P. Morgan Chase won't have an immediate impact on its employees' health-care plan, the company said in an email sent to all employees on Thursday.

In the email, obtained by CNBC, Amazon's HR boss Beth Galetti wrote that the new partnership will take a "considerable amount of time" to come to fruition, and that "nothing is changing" to Amazon's current health-care offering to employees.

It also stressed that the goal of the initiative is to improve health care "for all of our U.S. employees," while reducing costs.

The email underscores the long-term view Amazon is taking on this health-care initiative, and the time and effort it expects to take to make a real impact on the health-care industry.

In a press release on Thursday, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and J.P. Morgan Chase announced a plan to form a separate, not-for-profit company that will tackle the high costs associated with U.S. health care.

The announcement characterized the partnership as a "long-term effort," while Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said that the plan would require "long-term orientation." Amazon's Galetti, Berkshire Hathaway's investment officer Todd Combs and J.P. Morgan Chase's managing director Marvelle Sullivan Berchtold are currently seeking a management team to lead the new company and a headquarters location.

Here's the full text of the email Amazon shared with its employees about the partnership:

Fellow Amazonians,

I want to share with you a new initiative we're undertaking in partnership with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase. We will be working together to improve healthcare for all of our U.S. employees and reduce costs.

This initiative will take a considerable amount of time, and nothing is changing with our current healthcare offering. We will let you know well in advance of any changes.

Thank you,

Beth Galetti