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I wish them good luck with that, when there's 15% unemployment.
by supernova87a 7y ago
I wish them good luck with that, when there's 15% unemployment.
- claudeganon 7y agoThis is the risk people have always taken to try and make things better for everyone. If everyone had your sentiment, instead of the courage to do things like this, people would still be working 7 days a week, alongside their children.
- tareqak 7y agoAn unemployment rate of 15% cuts both ways. Mass walkouts and mass resignations are still disruptive especially if it takes time to onboard new employees.
- gnicholas 7y agoHow does a high unemployment rate cut both ways? Seems like it only favors the employer — they'll have an easier time hiring new employees, and employees will have a harder time finding other jobs. Is there a way in which a high unemployment rate gives the employees leverage? I can see walkouts happening right now because Amazon employees know the company is under scrutiny and therefore less likely to fire them. But I doubt many people will 'put their money where their mouth is' and actually resign when the economy is doing poorly and there are very few jobs (and lots of job seekers).
- tareqak 7y agoWith a high enough unemployment rate, businesses might have trouble getting anything done because outside conditions start resembling a general strike. In addition, with a high enough unemployment rate, the customers of a business might not be able to afford the corresponding goods or services even if they are sold at cost. Grinding a battered economy to halt is easier.
- decebalus1 7y agoAmazon is a high volume low margins business. Mass walkouts are very disruptive. Everything stopping 'the machine' translates into direct revenue loss. Amazon went to great lengths in making the machine resilient by having people be more expendable but we're still not at the point in which if a lot of people walk out at the same time, there's an army of scabs in standby to pick up the work and keep things going. If this goes viral and a lot of workers do it at the same time, it can be catastrophic.
- AlexandrB 7y agoThis is a very simplistic analysis. For Amazon this seems like a moment of vulnerability as they’re already struggling to keep up with demand.
- op00to 7y agoHow long do you think it would take for Amazon to make 1500 new engineers productive during a pandemic? Amazon's not gonna fire anyone if they aren't forced to for money reasons.
- advisedwang 7y agoSadly they already have: https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/14/21220353/amazon-covid-19-criticism-protest-fired-employees-cunningham-costa-climate-change https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/14/21220353/amazon-covid-19-... I agree that the pandemic cuts both ways though!
- malandrew 7y agoMy understanding is that it is 1500 employees, not 1500 engineers. The number of engineers is probably far fewer and low enough to replace.
- decebalus1 7y agoI genuinely wish them good luck and I'm happy they're taking action.
- Apocryphon 7y agoGiven how Amazon interviews, how obstinate they are against relaxing their standards, and how slow and inefficient their HR systems are in general, I wish management good luck with replacing these workers with scabs.