[jwmerrill]

“Passive voice” is a grammatical term.

“Amazon confirms 14,000 job losses,” is not an example of the passive voice.

“14,000 workers were fired by Amazon,” is an example of the passive voice.

There is not a 1:1 relationship between being vague about agency and using the passive voice.

[justonceokay]

GP obviously meant passive tone, not passive noun-verb relationship.

[harvey9]

Still puts them in a weak position to critique others on their use of words. We might like to hold the BBC to a higher standard but none of the big news sites are good at details like this.

[latexr]

True, I did make a mistake, but in my defense I’m but one person making a passing comment in an internet forum. Even then, if I had noticed my error before the edit window (which I do not control) expired, I would have issued a correction.

The BBC, on the other hand, is a major organisation employing professional writers and editors. It’s their job to inform clearly, not throw mud in people’s faces with the kind of indirect wording used to conceal intentions.

The situations are not in the same category. I made a mistake in word usage; the article’s title is manipulating meaning, using public relations-style words carefully chosen for the goal of minimising backlash.

Furthermore, I don’t think you need to be perfect to point out imperfection. It is perfectly valid to go to a restaurant and say “this pizza tastes bad” even if you don’t know how to cook.

[happimess]

I've heard it described as the "exculpative voice".

[qsi]

Correct. There's nothing vague about "the burglar was shot by me."

It's passive but crystal clear.

[TheOtherHobbes]

Grammatically correct, but missing the narrative subtext.

"Job losses" is a passive construction because it hides the fact that the agent - Amazon - made a deliberate and conscious decision to destroy these jobs.

People do occasionally lose things deliberately, but more usually it happens to someone through carelessness or accident, often with associated regret.

This is an example of framing, where a narrative spin is put on events.

"Amazon destroyed 14,000 jobs" would be far more accurate. But we never see that construction from corporate-controlled media outlets.

Companies create jobs. They never destroy them. "Losses" always happen because of regrettable circumstances or outside forces.

The company's hand is always forced. It's never a choice made out of greed (the truth) but because of a plausible excuse.