The perception among many Amazonians is that the only way to receive a meaningful salary bump is to "boomerang": quit Amazon and then return in a more highly-paid role.Įmployees underscored that perception in a discussion about raises on an internal Amazon Slack channel in early January, according to screenshots seen by Insider. In the absence of rising equity, salary increases can be difficult to come by, employees say. In the past year, for instance, Amazon shares have fallen more than 10%. One former senior AWS employee said Amazon bakes in a 15% assumption of share price gains every year, but that doesn't always happen. In his final CEO letter to shareholders, he defended Amazon's treatment of workers but said the company needs " a better vision for how we create value for employees - a vision for their success."Įmployees and managers say that in their experience, Amazon will factor share price growth into decisions on whether to give raises or bonuses, leaving employees feeling like their individual effort won't be rewarded. For him, HR was like the KGB, and it operates that way."īezos relinquished the CEO role last year, becoming executive chair. "I don't believe Jeff Bezos cared one fig about his employees or about HR. Though he said he loved working at Amazon, he had been denied a promotion he felt he deserved, and he had an attractive offer from an Amazon competitor. "Amazon was founded by an individual who has no interest in developing employees," said a senior AWS engineer who left late last year after nearly a decade at the company. Outside hires are often paid more than longtime Amazonians in the same role, employees said. Attrition across the company is typically 6% to 8% a year, according to a former executive.Īt Amazon, promotions are difficult to get, and the pay bump they come with doesn't always seem to match the new responsibilities. An Amazon spokesperson said that was overstated without providing specific data. Turnover among US-based Amazon Web Services engineers was at least 35% last year, according to two insiders. The higher attrition is starting to strain Amazon operations, said one longtime manager in Amazon's consumer division who's seen 30% of the engineers on his team leave in the past four months. Combining this elevated turnover "with a ridiculous hiring process, and we are likely to have understaffed teams for a long time," he said. Those who spoke to Insider for this story asked not to be identified discussing sensitive topics. Those ideals are now clashing with a falling share price, high expectations for employee performance during the pandemic, and an intense talent war, insiders say. Amazon has long had a goal of hiring "missionaries" – people zealous about working at Amazon even though the pay lags rivals – not "mercenaries." And "frugality" is one of Amazon's 16 vaunted principles. Management principles baked into Amazon's founding culture have made it difficult for employees to get promotions and raises, these people say. One major reason is that the company does not reward loyalty, according to former employees.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |