That is the design: business units that are not viable on their own are subsidized by a few cash cows but might gain market share and be profitable in the future
My guess is what you say here, and where the plan is AI/Robotics will take over. That in itself will be unprofitable for a while until it is very profitable and like Google with search, hard to displace.
You might be right but that isn't even what I'm saying here. Your description could apply to many sectors of the economy, most of which they have a some amount of presence in
Amazon is unique in that they are so big they saturate the job market. Most companies don’t. This sounds like a unique challenge.