“Jobs, jobs, jobs,” a now-famous political mantra, was first championed by a US senator from Massachusetts. But with the state’s current representation in Congress’s upper chamber, that era is long gone. The focus on ensuring good-paying jobs for all has been replaced with an ideology that is sinking local economies and leading to layoffs at the Commonwealth’s most innovative companies.
Following opposition from Senator Elizabeth Warren and objections from the European Commission, the proposed merger between Amazon and Massachusetts’ homegrown innovator and Roomba-maker iRobot was abandoned. Soon after, iRobot announced that it would be laying off 350 workers, 31 percent of its staff, and “offshoring non-core engineering functions to lower-cost regions.” The Bedford-based firm is slated to reduce its workforce by March 30 and move job functions overseas. Warren’s advocacy led to mass layoffs right in her backyard.
Rather than push back against poorly wrought policy decisions coming from Europe, the Federal Trade Commission, under the leadership of chair Lina Khan, celebrated the merger’s dismantling. One of the agency’s directors issued a statement that read like an Academy Award acceptance speech, thanking the Northeast Regional Office “and the entire FTC team.”
But what was its achievement? iRobot, a leader in robotics and AI and one of the Commonwealth’s top success stories, is laying off one-third of its Massachusetts-based staff. This is not a victory — it’s a defeat for Massachusetts workers and American innovation.
The broader economic and political context makes this even more troubling. A recent poll from CNN indicates a deep concern among Americans about the state of the US economy. Approximately 42 percent said their financial situation is worse now than it was a year ago. Amid such economic uncertainty, the last thing Americans want to see is jobs being sent overseas while federal agencies applaud the demise of a merger that would have probably kept those jobs in the United States.
Advertisement
Warren and Khan seem to operate from an ideological playbook that views success through a lens of suspicion. Their opposition to the Amazon-iRobot deal was predicated on speculative harms — including concerns about anticompetitive practices by Amazon — and an academic and ideological worldview that seeks to reshape the landscape of American business practices without regard for the real-world consequences.
This approach is not just misguided, it’s dangerous. It has cost a lot of people their jobs when household budgets are already stretched thin.
And it further erodes US leadership in innovation and technology, which are critical not only to the economy but also to national security. At a time when global competitors like China are aggressively seeking to overtake the United States in these areas, policy makers cannot afford to handicap the nation’s innovators.
Instead of its current interventionist stance, the FTC needs to return to its core mission. Regulatory enforcement should be guided by the actual impact of business practices on consumers, prioritizing their interests and the overall health of the economy. However, this standard — called “the consumer welfare standard” by competition policy scholars — has been sidelined in favor of an ideological approach that does real harm to real people.
It’s imperative that civil regulatory policies be grounded in empirical evidence, not ideological ambitions. The focus should be on fostering an environment where innovation thrives, jobs are created, and the economy grows. This requires a return to a balanced approach at the FTC, one that considers the long-term implications for the American economy and US leadership in the global marketplace.
Advertisement
As the nation moves toward the 2024 election, voters must consider the impact of policies that prioritize political victories over economic realities. The story of iRobot’s layoffs is a cautionary tale of what happens when untested academic concepts and ideological jawboning take priority. Our leaders should be champions of American innovation and job creation, not obstacles to it.
Certainly, the FTC and Warren should reconsider their current focus. Applauding halted mergers that caused Bay Staters to lose their jobs is insulting and, frankly, puzzling. A more productive approach would be a return to policies that nurture economic prosperity, create good-paying jobs, and protect America’s position as a leader in technology.
When a handful of politicians can’t be talked off the ideological ledge, it’s crucial for lawmakers to work across party lines to guide the FTC back to its fundamental purpose. Given the ever-changing economic and political landscape around the globe, we can’t afford to fall behind.
Beth Lindstrom, a Massachusetts-based businesswoman, served as the director of the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation from 2003 to 2007 and was a Republican candidate for US Senate in 2018.
