A former investor in Amazon who made $100 million from his early stake in the business has said the company 'destroyed a million jobs'.
Entrepreneur Nick Hanauer, a Democrat party supporter who is currently campaigning for a $15 an hour minimum wage in the US, said he was 'incredibly proud' of what Amazon achieved after he invested $45,000 - the bulk of his savings - in the business in 1995.
But he said, after cashing in five years later for $100 million, he feelings towards the firm were not an 'unalloyed good'.
'Amazon didn't create any jobs. Amazon probably destroyed a million jobs in our economy,' he told the Seattle Times on Saturday, pointing to reduced employment at bricks and mortar stores that resulted from the firms market dominance.
He said: 'We have to find a way as a capitalist democracy to account for that.'
Amazon is often criticised for operating a virtually profitless model to undercut rivals and force them out of business - the book retailing industry being the principle example often used.
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