[orzig]

This seems on brand for an old tech company like AT&T. But Amazon is a puzzle to me. it’s been a decade since people started talking about how terrible it is to work there, and how all of the squeeze they put on employees is for short term gain, but they have clearly had immense growth since then, and (while every company has failures) considerable innovation. How are they “getting away with it“? Shouldn’t all of the high performers have left by now?

[jdbxhdd]

They simply can afford to pay more high performers. And since they have sustainable growth, there is no reason to switch course of action.

Compare this to consulting which is known for squeezing their employees to the max. They simply pay enough that there is a steady stream of new highly qualified and highly capable candidates.

[duxup]

Yeah Amazon has to some extent had a reputation for working people to the bone but as far as I can tell it hasn’t hurt them.

I wouldn’t want to work that way but if it is as competitive to work there as they say …. I’m probably not qualified.

[yesiamyourdad]

These are two wildly different companies. AMZN still has some upside and pays a lot in equity. The only reason to own T is for the dividend while your capital sublimates.

That said AMZN is a lot more like the old model, they never really subscribed to the Microsoft & Silicon Valley ways of doing things.

[michaelt]

> it’s been a decade since people started talking about how terrible it is to work there, [...] How are they “getting away with it“?

Some companies have tough working conditions in some areas of the business, and not others.

You work for Amazon as a delivery driver or a warehouse picker? They'll probably be breathing down your neck about performance all the time, and not paying all that well, and you'll have to stand and walk a lot, lift heavy things, and endure heat and cold, and work unsociable hours, and they'll be mad if you call in sick. Maybe they tell you you're "self-employed" and you never know how much work they'll have for you each week, you get no sick pay, no holiday, and you're subtracting the costs of your own car, fuel and insurance from your pay packet.

On the other hand, if you have a white collar job in the retail division of the business? You'll still have demanding targets to meet, and the pay might not be great - but you'll know you're going to get paid each week, you'll be working normal hours in a nice air-conditioned office, and you'll be able to take sick leave when you're sick.

And if you've got a white collar job in AWS? levels.fyi claims after a single promotion you'll be on US$275,000.

[gr4vityWall]

> Shouldn’t all of the high performers have left by now?

What I hear is that the pay is really good, and worth it if you can tolerate the high workloads. I assume most FAANG high performers who also are workaholics would do well in Amazon's environment.

[RicoElectrico]

Guess some psychos take pride in hardship for hardship's sake. Think navy seals, but in tech.