Amazon ( AMZN ) could potentially spin off its Prime streaming unit as a separate company, CEO Andy Jassy said Wednesday. During a wide-ranging interview at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit, Jassy said that “we now have the opportunity to turn our Prime video business into a stand-alone business with very attractive economics.” Jassy also defended the Klub holding company’s decision to “adequate” costs by cutting thousands of jobs, highlighted changes in consumer spending amid an uncertain economy and announced Amazon’s intention to continue expanding into healthcare. The club applauds Jassy’s comments on cost containment as well as his measured approach to building Prime. Layoffs and costs Jassy said Amazon’s decision to cut about 10,000 jobs is part of an effort to create more efficiencies within the organization. But he said it was “not wrong to double down” by hiring more workers during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when business was booming. Jassy said he has no regrets about the company’s pandemic strategy, including the company’s push to build its infrastructure to meet growing demand. At the same time, he acknowledged, it’s important to consider any sudden changes that may occur when adding employees, even if the business is performing well. Amazon, which saw its headcount soar during the pandemic, has seen growth slow over the past year as macroeconomic headwinds picked up. Consumer shopping declines Growing economic uncertainty means consumers are more careful about where they put their cash and are increasingly looking for deals, Jassy said. “People care a lot about getting a deal right now.” He added that in discretionary categories like electronics, consumers are trading up to more economical models. “In tough and uncertain economies, we’ve seen over time that consumers are very careful about who they choose to partner with and go with companies that take good care of them and provide a great customer experience, and that’s always been the case. We’re very clearly focused,” Jassy said. Jassy said streaming Amazon’s Prime Video, one of the fastest-growing streaming services, could one day become a standalone business. The Division, Thursday Night Football and the new Lord of the Rings series “Our Prime Video offering is an important component…you see more and more people joining Prime for video content,” Jassy said. Amazon is taking steps to build its nascent pharmacy business, Jassy said, a move that reinforces the company’s mission to be a one-stop shop where customers can find any product they want. they wanted us to have a proposal and we built something there [but] we’re still in relatively early days,” he said. At the same time, Jassy said the health care system in the U.S. is in “great need of reinvention,” and he hopes Amazon can be part of that reform. Amazon in July in a $3.9 billion deal announced plans to acquire primary healthcare provider One Medical. Ultimately, Jassy’s acknowledgment that Amazon is overstaffed and overbuilt in infrastructure is a positive. The stock, down more than 42% year-to-date, typically is responding positively in the harvest phase rather than the investment phase, giving a glimmer of optimism for Amazon stock in 2023. Meanwhile, Jassy’s comments about consumers trying to stretch their dollars come as no surprise as inflation has eaten away at many US discretionary budgets. Finally, It makes sense that Amazon would want to build Prime Video, and we’re glad to hear that they plan to do so in a disciplined manner cf. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long AMZN. See here for a complete list. s tocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investment Club with Jim Cramer, you’ll receive trade alerts before Jim trades. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTMENT CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY. NO FIDUCIARY ENTITY OR DUTIES ARE OR WILL BE CREATED BY YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTMENT CLUB. NO RESULTS OR PROFITS ARE GUARANTEED.