5 ms·

Is there any theory on why Amazon decided to spread the cut over months of time instead of planning sufficiently and then having a decisive cut?

jetpks 4y ago
To maximize morale pain so more people leave without having to pay them severance. If you knew you were at risk of being laid off sometime in the next few months, wouldn't you start looking now?
- Wowfunhappy 4y ago
  But doesn't this also mean you're more likely to loose your best employees (who can more easily find a job elsewhere) and retain your worst ones (who'll consider an unpleasant Amazon better than any alternative)?
  - makestuff 4y ago
    Where are they going to go at this point? Not many places hiring that will pay more than Amazon. One question I do have is since H1B is technically only allowed when there is not a citizen who can complete the job, does that mean that people on visas would be laid off first or does that not go into consideration for the layoffs.
    - saagarjha 4y ago
      Google, Apple, Microsoft?
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - vsskanth 4y ago
      There is no such requirement to employ an H1B. The only requirement is to pay atleast prevailing wage for the role you're hiring for.
- alach11 4y ago
  This risks the dead sea effect though. https://medium.com/geekculture/the-dead-sea-effect-d71df13724f8 https://medium.com/geekculture/the-dead-sea-effect-d71df1372...
zeroonetwothree 4y ago
Incompetence?
ren_engineer 4y ago
squeeze maximum efficiency out of people who are going to work even harder hoping to save their job only to get laid off anyway
snake_doc 4y ago
It’s a cost-minimization strategy. I’m sure one of the 300+ economists at AMZN had to write a 6-pager on this question. Layoffs are labor level reductions amid ongoing or expected periods of excess labor capacity. It’s almost a classic supply chain/operations management problem. Classically an Amazon core competence and problem at Amazon [1]. There are both shortage and excess costs to labor levels (ie. labor inventory) vs labor demand, combined consider as a supply-demand mismatch cost. To minimize this cost is to create a perfectly coordinated supply chain/inventory system through minimizing shortages and excesses. Statistically speaking, it is incredibly difficult for a company to perfectly return to that optimal level of supply in 1 single action because the optimal level is difficult to measure in the short run. Therefore, by monitoring supply and demand of labor over time, you are able to make more precise adjustments to return to optimal level of labor. Sadly, this strategy implies Amazon likely used a lower percentile estimate of required labor reductions for initial layoffs, meaning the mean/median estimate of required labor reductions is likely higher than already announced. [1] https://www.vox.com/recode/23170900/leaked-amazon-memo-warehouses-hiring-shortage https://www.vox.com/recode/23170900/leaked-amazon-memo-wareh...
newsclues 4y ago
I think Amazon is being honest and the rest of the industry will also being doing future lay offs. I don't understand how everyone can do this at the same time and it's not connected and planned.
- iceburgcrm 4y ago
  It is connected. Biden asked wall street / fortune 500 companies to freeze / slow hiring / wage increases. This is part of a larger plan.. When the new prime minister of England presented a budget with a taxcut she was shortly shown the door.
  - otterley 4y ago
    Do you have a link to a news article from a reputable organization that said President Biden asked for this?
    - iceburgcrm 4y ago
      https://www.google.com/amp/s/finance.yahoo.com/amphtml/news/why-the-fed-wants-corporate-america-to-have-a-hiring-freeze-morning-brief-100055174.html https://www.google.com/amp/s/finance.yahoo.com/amphtml/news/...
      - otterley 4y ago
        Biden's name isn't uttered in this article at all. Nor are there any statements from any Fed or government officials saying they're trying to do this. Any such suggestions are interpretations being made by independent analysts trying to read the tea leaves. Try again.
        iceburgcrm 4y ago
        I saw him say it on tv as well. I'll be your source and if that is not enough then you will have to live in a world where others know more than you. At some point the information will reach you.

jetpks 4y ago

To maximize morale pain so more people leave without having to pay them severance. If you knew you were at risk of being laid off sometime in the next few months, wouldn't you start looking now?

Wowfunhappy 4y ago
But doesn't this also mean you're more likely to loose your best employees (who can more easily find a job elsewhere) and retain your worst ones (who'll consider an unpleasant Amazon better than any alternative)?
- makestuff 4y ago
  Where are they going to go at this point? Not many places hiring that will pay more than Amazon. One question I do have is since H1B is technically only allowed when there is not a citizen who can complete the job, does that mean that people on visas would be laid off first or does that not go into consideration for the layoffs.
  - saagarjha 4y ago
    Google, Apple, Microsoft?
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - vsskanth 4y ago
    There is no such requirement to employ an H1B. The only requirement is to pay atleast prevailing wage for the role you're hiring for.
alach11 4y ago
This risks the dead sea effect though. https://medium.com/geekculture/the-dead-sea-effect-d71df13724f8 https://medium.com/geekculture/the-dead-sea-effect-d71df1372...

zeroonetwothree 4y ago

Incompetence?

ren_engineer 4y ago

squeeze maximum efficiency out of people who are going to work even harder hoping to save their job only to get laid off anyway

snake_doc 4y ago

It’s a cost-minimization strategy. I’m sure one of the 300+ economists at AMZN had to write a 6-pager on this question. Layoffs are labor level reductions amid ongoing or expected periods of excess labor capacity. It’s almost a classic supply chain/operations management problem. Classically an Amazon core competence and problem at Amazon [1]. There are both shortage and excess costs to labor levels (ie. labor inventory) vs labor demand, combined consider as a supply-demand mismatch cost. To minimize this cost is to create a perfectly coordinated supply chain/inventory system through minimizing shortages and excesses. Statistically speaking, it is incredibly difficult for a company to perfectly return to that optimal level of supply in 1 single action because the optimal level is difficult to measure in the short run. Therefore, by monitoring supply and demand of labor over time, you are able to make more precise adjustments to return to optimal level of labor. Sadly, this strategy implies Amazon likely used a lower percentile estimate of required labor reductions for initial layoffs, meaning the mean/median estimate of required labor reductions is likely higher than already announced. [1] https://www.vox.com/recode/23170900/leaked-amazon-memo-warehouses-hiring-shortage https://www.vox.com/recode/23170900/leaked-amazon-memo-wareh...

newsclues 4y ago

I think Amazon is being honest and the rest of the industry will also being doing future lay offs. I don't understand how everyone can do this at the same time and it's not connected and planned.

iceburgcrm 4y ago
It is connected. Biden asked wall street / fortune 500 companies to freeze / slow hiring / wage increases. This is part of a larger plan.. When the new prime minister of England presented a budget with a taxcut she was shortly shown the door.
- otterley 4y ago
  Do you have a link to a news article from a reputable organization that said President Biden asked for this?
  - iceburgcrm 4y ago
    https://www.google.com/amp/s/finance.yahoo.com/amphtml/news/why-the-fed-wants-corporate-america-to-have-a-hiring-freeze-morning-brief-100055174.html https://www.google.com/amp/s/finance.yahoo.com/amphtml/news/...
    - otterley 4y ago
      Biden's name isn't uttered in this article at all. Nor are there any statements from any Fed or government officials saying they're trying to do this. Any such suggestions are interpretations being made by independent analysts trying to read the tea leaves. Try again.
      - iceburgcrm 4y ago
        I saw him say it on tv as well. I'll be your source and if that is not enough then you will have to live in a world where others know more than you. At some point the information will reach you.