A New York Times report found a 150% turnover rate for hourly rate employees at Amazon each year. If they keep doing business as they are and treating employees as they are they may not have anyone to work for them by 2024 and this has people looking into the way amazon treats their employees. In these leaked memos by high executives within the company they say these predictions on labor were 94 percent accurate when predicting where they will run out of employees.
This has been seen as a wake up call to Amazon saying " if they keep doing business as usual" then they will run out, showing that they need to make a change in what they are doing. But originally this was Owner Jeff Bezos plan, he wanted a high turnover rate because he thought that long term employees would lack in work ethic and slack off then creating a "march to mediocracy" thinking that they will not work as hard and he wont produce as much or as well with long term employees then if he had new ones coming in all the time. But in a letter to his shareholders he stated he had to "do a better job" with their employees stating amazon will commit to being "eats best employer and earths safest place to work."
Amazon pushes their employees to the limit as they track every single thing they do throughout the day to get the most production out of each person possible while not letting much of anything slide if that is writing them up for time off task or other things that could lead to termination. One employee says they walk 15 miles or more per shift as a picker and he has to pick and carry heavy items all day as well. The quotas for a work day are not a recommendation but a requirement and you are written up if you do not hit these quotas. With this treatment they are having a hard time hiring people as this is a low unemployment time and if they dont make a change this might be a bigger problem for them.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jun/22/amazon-workers-shortage-leaked-memo-warehouse
Amazon's poor treatment of its employees, especially its manual and physical employees, has been well known for quite some time. It is unsurprising that they could potentially run out of workers in the next few years. This concept of desiring a high turnover rate is not a long-term solution and unsustainable. There is a finite number of people in the labor force and there are other, more secure, job opportunities. I am curious to see if Bezos will follow through on his letter and alter his mindset and treatment of employees.
ReplyDeleteAmazon could have better success in retaining employees if they chose to treat their employees with more respect and give them more incentives. It is commonly known that Amazon struggles to keep employees and have worked on changing that reputation with targeted ads and an increase in wages. Amazon still makes their employees work 40+ hour weeks as a heavy labor position with not many incentives to continue with the company. If Amazon were to focus on this aspect of their company to retain more employees they can start to worry about other things they can change in their company.
ReplyDeleteJeff Bezo's original business strategy with his employee turnover rate seems a little short-minded especially considering he's one of the wealthiest businessperson of our time. Wanting a fast employee turnover to avoid this "march to mediocracy" would just lead to a lower hiring rate as word would get around about the inability to hold a job at Amazon. Their blatant disregard for their employees' wellbeings will do nothing except lower employee morale and productivity. Monitoring an employees every move might initially increase productivity, but in the long run it will eventually lead to people leaving their jobs or it could potentially lead to lower productivity due to the anxiety caused by constant surveillance. It'll be interesting to see if Amazon changes their business model to prevent the mass exodus of their employees.
ReplyDeleteAmazon definitely has an ethical problem on their hands. It is completely inappropriate to treat employees in this manner. The demands are out of control and bordering a human rights issue. This situation raises the questions around the balance of economic success and fair treatment of workers. Jeff Bezos' poor comments and insufficient employment model has put Amazon in a really tough position. In today's world, a key component of success is treating workers fairly. I would be really interested to read the leaked documents and plan on following this situation.
ReplyDeleteHello Reece,
ReplyDeleteI have heard ethical issues between Amazon and how they treat their labor before but I did not know it was this bad. I have a friend who worked for amazon one summer and he said it was the worst job he has ever had, long hours, hard labor, difficult meeting quotas etc. Amazon is considered to have one of the best company models as they are not a retail company but they are a site in which other retail companies sell their stuff on. But at what cost is it to amazon, well apparently harsh working conditions and overworking its employees. In recent times amazon stock has seen a decrease and I was convinced for the most part that it was just the reaction of the market, but now I am seeing the bigger picture. I have done some more digging and found out recently that an employee recently passed away while on the job and was said to be caused by exhaustion. I now have more insight in this company for future investments! Overall really good post. Good Job.
Employee mistreatment is a very important issue. Not only do companies exploiting workers harm their own employees, it sets a precedent and lowers costs of production to an unhealthy and extreme level. As more companies lower the amount they pay their workers and profit from employee exploitation, other companies will follow a pattern trying to lower costs and mistreat workers. Participating in extreme mistreatment sets a dangerous precedent that could be detrimental to work forces around the world.
ReplyDeleteAmazon has been very frugal when it comes to employee treatment. Amazon trying to break into every industry, but without the support of their employees doesn't sound too hopeful. After covid, we could see a rise in employees demanding better corporate cultures which is very important.
ReplyDelete