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I don't think there's anything to judge here. Amazon said multiple times that with bonuses and stock awards their average compensation was well above any compen

I don't think there's anything to judge here. Amazon said multiple times that with bonuses and stock awards their average compensation was well above any compensation for fulfillment workers in the sector. People thought this was bullshit/paper money and kept demanding for a higher hourly wage. So Amazon did the logical thing. It increased the hourly wage, removed a highly unappreciated and misunderstood form of salary and simplified the compensation scheme so it could actually rebalance this value into a more predictable, easy to understand and liquid compensation. This should help anyone that felt exploited and of-course is going to piss off the people who actually understood the variable portion of their compensation and the ones who were already above the 15 USD mark. I don't think what were people expecting? Hourly wage raise + stock + bonuses? I mean I don't want to sound like a capitalist pig, but that doesn't make sense, especially when we are talking about this kind of job. People deserve livable wages but also they deserve to get recognized economically when they pursue advanced studies and put the effort to get into jobs that require more specialized skills.

kmkemp 8y ago
Saying that their compensation is higher than competitors in the sector says nothing about whether they will be paying out more total dollars after the changes than before.
- drakenot 8y ago
  For those hourly workers, Amazon plans to replace its RSU grant program with a direct stock purchase plan by the end of 2019. The net effect, the company says, will mean "significantly more total compensation" for the workers. https://www.npr.org/2018/10/02/653597466/amazon-sets-15-minimum-wage-for-u-s-employees-including-temps https://www.npr.org/2018/10/02/653597466/amazon-sets-15-mini...
s73v3r_ 8y ago
Amazon is a trillion dollar company. They did not have to make any decision.
- rukittenme 8y ago
  Amazon is valued at $1 trillion but Amazon does not have $1 trillion. Amazon's total assets are only about $131 billion. $20 billion of that is cash.
  - mmt 8y ago
    Moreover, it stands to reason that much of that excess (beyond assets) value is predicated on their unit economics, which depend on fulfillment costs, remaining good.
  - jagger27 8y ago
    > only
    - rukittenme 8y ago
      "Only" as in an order of magnitude less than originally estimated.
  - s73v3r_ 8y ago
    So they have plenty of money not to have to choose.

kmkemp 8y ago

Saying that their compensation is higher than competitors in the sector says nothing about whether they will be paying out more total dollars after the changes than before.

drakenot 8y ago
For those hourly workers, Amazon plans to replace its RSU grant program with a direct stock purchase plan by the end of 2019. The net effect, the company says, will mean "significantly more total compensation" for the workers. https://www.npr.org/2018/10/02/653597466/amazon-sets-15-minimum-wage-for-u-s-employees-including-temps https://www.npr.org/2018/10/02/653597466/amazon-sets-15-mini...

s73v3r_ 8y ago

Amazon is a trillion dollar company. They did not have to make any decision.

rukittenme 8y ago
Amazon is valued at $1 trillion but Amazon does not have $1 trillion. Amazon's total assets are only about $131 billion. $20 billion of that is cash.
- mmt 8y ago
  Moreover, it stands to reason that much of that excess (beyond assets) value is predicated on their unit economics, which depend on fulfillment costs, remaining good.
- jagger27 8y ago
  > only
  - rukittenme 8y ago
    "Only" as in an order of magnitude less than originally estimated.
- s73v3r_ 8y ago
  So they have plenty of money not to have to choose.