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>"I mean it's pretty far from a scrip system at a mining town but they're capturing as much of the lives as possible of the people who work there for the two ye
by bogomipz 9y ago
>"I mean it's pretty far from a scrip system at a mining town but they're capturing as much of the lives as possible of the people who work there for the two years or so they stick around on average."
Interesting, is two years a real average for an Amazon relocation hire in Seattle?
- rifung 9y agoI don't know the answer to your question but two years is the length you have to stay so that you don't have to pay back the relocation bonus. It would not surprise me that many people leave at 2 years.
- Analemma_ 9y agoYes. I have a friend at Amazon who just finished his fifth year and he confirmed he's already an in the upper quartile of longevity. He estimated a median 'lifespan' of 18 months for Seattle-based devs; it was admittedly a back-of-the-envelope calculation but their turnover is definitely sky-high.
- bogomipz 9y agoThanks, any insight into whether this is because of work life balance and culture at Amazon or people simply deciding that Seattle isn't for them?
- pinewurst 9y agoOh it's Amazon alright: https://sites.google.com/site/thefaceofamazon/ https://sites.google.com/site/thefaceofamazon/
- PhasmaFelis 9y agoIt's the first one.
- surement 9y agoNot so much a lifespan as an average; Amazon is hiring tens of thousands of people every year.
- schlarpc 9y agoThe relocation benefits have to be paid back (prorated) until two years, so it sounds plausible enough. For what it's worth (not much without numbers on growth and turnover), I've been with them for about 2.5 years and am around the 60th percentile for tenure among Seattle-based employees.
- thesmallestcat 9y agoTwo years to work off a relo bonus is so absurd. Why does anybody take that deal?
- seansmccullough 9y agoBecause they also give you a sign bonus in two parts, a lump sum for the first year, and the second year it is divided between the 12 paychecks. After two years, both the bonus and relocation have vested.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- throwaw123457 9y agoThe contracts Amazon offered (at least as of two years ago) were heavy on the starting bonus and grant of stock that you gave up if you quit before two years. It was apparent from the job offer terms that they didn't expect people to stick around for much longer than that. Most of the future compensation was the promise of more stock grants. No guarantees, and your long term financial future was betting on investors continue to write Bezos a blank check. To me, Amazon looked like working for a big company with many of the drawbacks of working for a startup. I didn't come away with the impression that you could make a career there. That's working well for them I guess, but they're well known for their ridiculous employee turnover rate.