The shocking secret inside Amazon – the company that claims to be the best business on Earth: Sneaky layoffs, employees just wish they were ‘better treated’

Amazon’s push to become one of the best companies in the world is falling apart, according to BI.

In July 2021, Amazon announced a new initiative: striving to be the best employer on Earth. The criterion “Success, scale brings corresponding responsibility” is also added to the set of 16 inviolable principles at US retailers.

However, 18 months from that date, the above goal is still unachievable. The toxic culture and the decline of the business make this the most controversial topic for all employees – supporters of “Day Two” – the not-so-friendly term Jeff Bezos uses. to describe the “stagnant” of a company after a long period of development at “Day One”.

” I don’t know what the hell they’re doing to be the best employer on Earth ,” one employee told Insider. “ Nothing seems to have changed. I still don’t see that the initiative hasn’t permeated the culture .” The 20 current and former employees requested anonymity for fear of reprisal.

In response, an Amazon representative said: “ We can improve the problem in many different ways in the business chain. We will continue to strive to improve every day and satisfy our employees, customers and partners .”

According to BI, three previous internal meetings at Amazon were recorded, in which employees pressed Jassy and Beth Galetti – Amazon’s top human resources director to clarify their goals of being a good employer. best on Earth. However, their feedback further frustrated Amazon employees.

In particular, Andy Jassy was embarrassed when trying to share the initiative, then distracted to mention improving working conditions at warehouses – where workers often suffer spinal and joint injuries due to special features. work enemies. The group CEO also discussed helping employees have a “long-term, satisfying career,” along with empathetic management. He said Amazon’s top leadership team met “at least once a month” to address these issues.

However, a coherent answer, to the heart of the problem does not appear. Andy Jassy argues that Amazon can’t do everything on its own and it will take a long time for the initiative to come to fruition.

A year later, that becomes even more ambiguous. Safety in the workplace, competitive wages and a good culture are still seen as key company goals, but the pace with which they are implemented is unknown.

Andy Jassy thinks the initiative to be Earth’s best employer should focus on meritocracy and long-term goals. Straightforwardness, respect even when disagreeing is also extremely important. In addition, the initiative is said to be “subjective” because each employee will have a different view and definition of a best place to work.

At another meeting last April, Galetti agreed with Jassy’s views. She said Amazon has identified 100 pain points related to the initiative, and has resolved 28 issues. These include employee compensation and technical culture improvements.

More than 80 employee responses to the initiative have been received recently. Accordingly, to become the best employer in the world, they believe that Amazon should pay more and rebalance work-life. In addition, the company should also be “kinder to employees”.

In an 11-page internal study created in October 2021, Amazon employees said the company was not “remarkably innovative,” even making its internal culture associated with “stress, exhaustion, and stress.” power, chaos and suffocation”. Neither “modest improvements” fit Amazon’s core culture, especially when the recent layoffs have crippled morale. Rumors of more job cuts at the end of the year made Amazon employees feel like they were sitting on fire.

For many Amazon employees, the lack of transparency during last month’s layoffs is at odds with the employer’s stance. The company didn’t publicly share its restructuring plan with employees until it was leaked. The management department is even vague, not understanding the problem. Most layoffs were only notified via email, with no prior warning or face-to-face meetings.

” This was handled so badly ,” said one former employee, adding that the handling made some employees feel nostalgic for former leader Jeff Bezos.

“ Jeff Bezos never pretends. Everything is performance-based ,” said one current employee. “ I respect what Jassy does, but it will never help Amazon scale and increase internal engagement .”

According to the FT, what was once thought to be limitless ambition and passion under Bezos suddenly disappeared under Mr. Jassy. Jassy still ignores any suggestion that Amazon’s talent hoarding during the pandemic is irresponsible. “ The big hiring is because we think about opportunity. When the company is growing well, it makes sense to double in size. And then the economy changes, the macro changes ,” Jassy said.

Meanwhile, the grocery business at Amazon is disappointing investors. Five years on from buying Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, Amazon has yet to reshape brick-and-mortar retail. Revenue from its physical stores grew only 10% during the period. According to experts, Whole Foods’ store format is not consistent, nor does it provide the right delivery centers.

Before that, Amazon tested the Amazon Go convenience store, where a camera can record what a shopper chooses and automatically debit it. The technology works with incredible accuracy, but efforts to sell it to retailers are limited. The company also plans to open hundreds of Amazon Fresh stores with the size of supermarkets, and act as small distribution centers for online customers, but so far, only a few dozen stores have been opened. open.

By: BI, FT