DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Leaked document shows Amazon expects to save $1.3 billion by slashing office vacancies and terminating leases early
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewAmazon expects to save roughly $1.3 billion in coming years by radically reducing office vacancies, according to a person familiar with the matter and an internal document obtained by Business Insider. The company's office-vacancy rate of almost 34% results from slower growth and layoffs, the person familiar told BI. Related storiesIn an email to BI, Brad Glasser, a spokesperson for Amazon, said it's a normal business practice to review the company's real-estate portfolio. AdvertisementThe person familiar with the matter also noted that so-called "hibernations" can help reduce office costs for Amazon. Internally, Amazon is aware of how last year's RTO policy caused confusion and frustration among some employees, people familiar with the plans told BI.

Persons: —, Fitch, Brad Glasser, Glasser, Andy Jassy Organizations: Service, Business, Google, Amazon, Alexa

☆ There's an uptick in Amazon employees quitting right now, blaming a strict RTO mandate, layoffs, and 'lack of respect'
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Some Amazon employees have noticed an increasing number of Slack messages lately from colleagues who are quitting over the company's strict return-to-office mandate. Many Amazon employees received deadlines for starting to work in offices and the uptick in departures may be related to teams nearing those various deadlines. "This [is] my last day at Amazon," another AWS employee wrote on Friday. However, BI has asked the company for comment on its RTO policy many times in recent months. "Tomorrow is my last day at Amazon," one Amazon employee wrote on Thursday.

Persons: Slack, RTO, Merritt Baer, Brad Glasser, there's, we've, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Business, Amazon, Web Services, BI Locations: RTO

☆ Amazon sued by three employees who allege gender discrimination and 'chronic' pay inequity
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Amazon Spheres, part of the Amazon headquarters campus, right, in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, U.S., on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. Three Amazon staffers sued their employer on Monday alleging gender discrimination and accusing the company of retaliation after they complained of "chronic pay inequity issues." He added that Amazon doesn't tolerate discrimination in the workplace, and it investigates all reported incidents of such behavior. The complaint was filed by Outten & Golden, the same New York law firm that represented a Google executive in her successful gender bias lawsuit, as well as Uber software engineers who sued the company for gender and racial discrimination. Amazon has faced allegations of gender and racial discrimination from tech and corporate workers in recent years.

Persons: Caroline Wilmuth, Katherine Schomer, Erin Combs, Wilmuth, Schomer, Combs, Brad Glasser, Loretta Lynch Organizations: South Lake Union, Amazon, Human Resources Department, Western, of Washington, Outten Locations: South Lake, Seattle , Washington , U.S, U.S, York

☆ Amazon says employees may not get promoted if they ignore return-to-office mandate
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon is dialing up the pressure on corporate employees who haven't complied with the company's return-to-office mandate. Staffers who don't adhere to the policy, which requires employees to be in the office at least three days a week, may not get promoted, according to posts on Amazon's internal website that were viewed by CNBC. A separate post on Amazon's internal career platform for employees says, "In accordance with Amazon's overall approach to promotions, employees are expected to work from their office 3+ days/week if that is the requirement of their role." "Promotions are one of the many ways we support employees' growth and development, and there are a variety of factors we consider when determining an employee's readiness for the next level," Glasser told CNBC. "Like any company, we expect employees who are being considered for promotion to be in compliance with company guidelines and policies."

Persons: Andy Jassy, haven't, Brad Glasser, Glasser Organizations: Amazon.Com Inc, CNBC, Business, Amazon Locations: Seattle , Washington , U.S

☆ Amazon warns that not complying with return-to-office mandate could impact getting promoted
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —Amazon is once again doubling down on its return-to-office mandate, warning staff that not complying with it could impact their chances of being promoted. There are a “variety of factors we consider when determining an employee’s readiness for the next level,” Brad Glasser, an Amazon spokesperson, told CNN in a statement. Like much of the broader business world, Amazon has faced some employee resistance to this mandate. In August, meanwhile, Amazon sent a warning email to some of its office workers that said it believed they were not complying with its return-to-office policies. The company said it has a remote work exception request policy in place, which is considered on a case-by-case basis.

Persons: don’t, ” Brad Glasser, ” Glasser, Andy Jassy, ” Jassy, Amazon Organizations: New, New York CNN, Employees, CNN, Amazon, “, Seattle Locations: New York

☆ Amazon wanted me to move across the country to return to office. I left $200,000 in unvested stock options on the table when I quit.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

I was an Amazon software development manager for more than three years. I quit, leaving over $200,000 in unvested stock options on the table rather than return to office. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Instead, I started my new job, taking a $203,000 pay cut by forfeiting unvested stocks that I'd earned while working at Amazon. But, while they're remote-first, if they ever decided to implement an in-office work policy, I'd find a new gig.

Persons: —, I'd, Brad Glasser, Glasser, We've, we'd, we've Organizations: Service, Amazon Locations: Amazon, Seattle, East Coast, New York

☆ Strange Amazon job posting suggests the company is fishing for 'opportunistic' hires
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Ashley Stewart | Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon accidentally published a job posting for a director of security engineering for something called "Project Panda" with a strange description indicating the listing would be used to find "opportunistic candidates." "This posting was listed in error and we're working to remove it," Brad Glasser, an Amazon spokesperson said. "Pooling requisition for security," the now-deleted job posting repeatedly stated. The job posting, and the description in particular, fueled speculation among insiders over if Amazon is advertising positions the company doesn't intend to fill, one told us. Amazon laid off 27,000 employees over the past year, and has put a hiring freeze in many teams across the company.

Persons: Brad Glasser, that's, Eugene Kim Organizations: Amazon, LinkedIn, AWS Locations: Detroit

☆ I've worked at Amazon for years, but now I'm looking for a new job because our RTO mandate would force me to uproot my life
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The first time I worked at Amazon I was on the same team the entire time, so I was already looking for a change. That was sort of the final thing that pushed me to look outside of Amazon and take a new job. I'm angry, I'm frustrated. I've never seen Amazon make any sort of large-scale, top-down mandate like this without some sort of reason behind it. The jobs I'm looking at are significant pay cuts.

Persons: Andy Jassy, It's, I've, I'm, Slack, Brad Glasser, we've Organizations: Amazon Locations: Amazon, Seattle

☆ Amazon VP who was previously Uber's CTO has taken a sudden leave of absence less than 2 years into the job
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The VP in charge of Amazon's ecommerce technology services has taken a sudden leave of absence. Sukumar Rathnam, an Amazon VP who was formerly Uber's chief technology officer, is taking a sudden leave of absence, Insider has learned. Rathnam was most recently VP of eCommerce services at Amazon, overseeing the retail giant's backend technology. It was his second stint at Amazon, after having spent almost 10 years in a retail VP role previously. Many Amazon employees voiced their opposition to RTO over the past 6 months, both publicly and privately, sparking an internal petition and a public walkout.

Persons: Sukumar Rathnam, Rathnam, Dave Treadwell, Ramesh Manne, Treadwell, Sukumar, Sundeep Jain, Rathnam's, Dave Clark, Jay Carney, Andy Jassy, Jeff Bezos, Brad Glasser, Glasser, Jassy Organizations: Amazon, Amazon's Locations: Amazon's

☆ Recent updates for Amazon return to office policies
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Previous pronouncements about the revolutionary benefits of remote work have been replaced by vague, data-light arguments on productivity gains from being in the office. Apple, Meta, Bloomberg and Google all have gleaming HQs that would look very silly if those companies continued to embrace remote work. Insider has asked Amazon for comment on its RTO policy several times in recent months and the company has responded. AdvertisementAdvertisementAn internal guideline, obtained by Insider, listed Amazon office locations and the dates they are expected to be fully "ready" to support the RTO mandate. That's what some Amazon employees have done by mocking the company's RTO policy and its famous leadership principles.

Persons: Brad Glasser, there's, we've, Amazon's, LINDSEY WASSON, Andy Jassy, Slack, Beth Galetti, Al Drago, Paul Vixie, Andy Jassy's, Mike Hopkins, Hopkins, Elaine Thompson, snafu, they'd Organizations: Amazon, Tech, Meta, Bloomberg, Google, Seattle, Reuters, Amazon SVP, Human, Services, Company, Amazon Video Locations: Seattle, Seattle , Washington , U.S, Beth Galetti REUTERS, Seattle , New York, Houston, Austin , Texas

☆ Leaked guidelines reveal more details about Amazon's controversial 'voluntary resignation' program for remote workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Amazon recently rolled out a so-called "return-to-hub" policy that forces employees to work out of centrally assigned office locations, called hubs. That could apply even if the rest of the employee's team is in other cities. Amazon managers should have "empathy and positive intent" when having these difficult conversations with their staff. 'Be prepared'Perhaps in anticipation of sharp resistance from employees, the guidelines provide Amazon managers with several talking points and best-practice examples to follow. If an employee asks why someone else may have a remote work exemption, managers are to say "personal circumstances are confidential."

Persons: Brad Glasser, we've, Amazon's, Eugene Kim Organizations: Amazon, Amazon's, Employees

☆ Leaked messages show Amazon will force a 'voluntary resignation' on employees failing to relocate near their team 'hubs'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon is asking employees to relocate to the "hub" office of their individual teams. Amazon employees who refuse to relocate near the "hub" office of their teams will either have to find a new job internally or leave the company through a "voluntary resignation." Under the initial return-to-office policy, Amazon employees could go into any office at least three times a week, regardless of where the majority of their team was. Some employees told Insider that made office work pointless because many still had to use video calls to connect with their teammates. Still, the change only adds to the frustration Amazon employees face.

Persons: Slack, Andy Jassy, Brad Glasser, there's, we've, Glasser, Amazon, it's, Amazon's, Beth Galetti, doesn't, Eugene Kim Organizations: Amazon, Employees, Amazon's Locations: Seattle , New York, Houston, Austin

☆ Amazon lays off some employees in its Pharmacy unit
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon has let go of some of the employees in its Pharmacy business, the company confirmed to CNBC. A "small number" of staffers in the Amazon Pharmacy division were informed Thursday they were being laid off, Amazon spokesperson Brad Glasser said in a statement. "As a result, we have made the decision to adjust resources and a small number of roles have been eliminated on the Amazon Pharmacy Services team." The company laid off 18,000 employees over several months last fall and earlier this year, then announced an additional 9,000 employees would be let go in March. Some employees in the company's pharmacy, digital health tools and Halo fitness band units were laid off, CNBC previously reported.

Persons: Brad Glasser, Glasser, Andy Jassy Organizations: CNBC, Amazon Pharmacy, Amazon, Amazon Pharmacy Services Locations: PillPack

☆ Truth Behind Tech Industry's Fake Work Problem: Bad Managers, Bosses
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Hugh Langley | Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

The tech employees spoke with us on the condition of anonymity to avoid professional reprisal. There's only one real culprit for the culture of "fake work," he said. The latest version of fake work emerged as part of the tech industry's pandemic-driven boom and bust. "I think COVID was an accelerator for fake work because a lot of these tech companies hired. As for Graham, he's since moved to another tech company, where he said he felt his contributions were more valued.

Persons: Graham, wouldn't, Keith Rabois, Rabois, Brit Levy, Scott Latham, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Brent Peterson, Gaylan Nielson, Rich Moran, " Moran, Melina Mara, he'd, Moran, Anna Tavis, Stewart Butterfield, Bloomberg's, LINDSEY WASSON, it's, Salesforce, What's, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, Zuckerberg, Brad Glasser, Meta, Greg Selker, Stanton Chase, Jessica Kennedy, Kennedy, NYU's Tavis, Hugh Langley, Grace Kay Organizations: Amazon, Alexa, Big Tech, Google, University of Massachusetts, Washington, Getty, Meta, Microsoft, overhiring, New York University's School, Professional Studies, Slack, Command, Bloomberg, Vanderbilt University, Companies Locations: New, Salesforce, he's

[1/3] Amazon workers participate in a walkout at Amazon Headquarters, in Seattle, Washington, U.S., May 31, 2023. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnightSEATTLE, May 31 (Reuters) - Some Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) employees staged a walkout on Wednesday in protest of the e-commerce giant's changes to its climate policy, layoffs and a return-to-office mandate. More than 1,900 employees had pledged to protest globally, according to the organizers, an activist group known as Amazon Employees for Climate Justice (AECJ). In a statement, Amazon spokesperson Brad Glasser said the company is pushing hard to cut its carbon emissions. He added that Amazon listens to employee feedback and was happy with the collaboration that arose from its return-to-office policy.

Persons: Matt Mills McKnight, AECJ, Brad Glasser, Matt McKnight, Tiyashi Datta, Jeffrey Dastin, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Amazon Headquarters, REUTERS, Inc, Amazon Employees, Climate Justice, Amazon, Thomson Locations: Seattle , Washington , U.S, Matt Mills McKnight SEATTLE, Seattle, San Francisco, Bengaluru, Palo Alto , California

☆ Amazon corporate workers plan to stage walkout, citing ‘lack of trust’ in leadership
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Nearly 2,000 corporate workers at Amazon have pledged to walk off the job on Wednesday to signal a “lack of trust” in the company’s leadership, in what could be the most visible sign of dissent among the e-commerce giant’s office workers in recent memory. Organizers said they will also have a way for employees at other Amazon corporate offices to participate virtually. All told, Amazon has said this year that it is laying off some 27,000 workers over multiple rounds of cuts. At the same time, Amazon and other tech companies are trying to get workers into the office more. “Amazon must keep pace with a changing world,” the group wrote in a Twitter thread last week calling for the walkout.

Persons: ”, Amazon, it’s, ” “, Brad Glasser, “, we’ve, who’ve, ” Glasser Organizations: CNN, Amazon, Amazon’s Seattle, Organizers, Twitter, Workers, Big Tech, Puget, Amazon Employees, Climate Justice Locations: Amazon’s, Los Angeles

☆ Amazon workers plan to walk out over 'lack of trust' in leadership
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Amazon employees plan to walk off the job Wednesday in protest of the company's recent return-to-office mandate, layoffs and its environmental record. ET, with about 900 of those workers gathering outside the Spheres, the massive glass domes that anchor Amazon's Seattle headquarters, according to employee groups behind the effort. The walkout is being organized in part by Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, an influential worker organization that has repeatedly pressed the e-retailer on its climate stance. The group said employees are walking out to highlight a "lack of trust in company leadership's decision making." Amazon employees are walking off the job at a precarious time inside the company.

Persons: Andy Jassy, Brad Glasser, we've, Glasser, Amazon Organizations: Seattle, Amazon Employees, Climate Justice, Employees, Amazon, CNBC, Puget, The Center, Investigative, Greenhouse, Accounting Locations: Seattle , Washington, Seattle, Seattle , New York, Northern California

☆ Amazon employees plan to walk out and accused the company of 'actively accelerating' the climate crisis, leaked email shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

In the email, the organizing group encourages employee participation in the walkout by pointing out five areas of concern over Amazon's climate initiatives. Here's what the email says:Emissions that are rising: Amazon's emissions have increased 40%(!!) Partnering with Big Oil: AWS Al and machine learning are being used by Big Oil to greatly accelerate oil and gas discovery and extraction. Amazon launched the Climate Pledge in 2019, committing to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. Partnering with Big Oil: AWS Al and machine learning are being used by Big Oil to greatly accelerate oil and gas discovery and extraction.

☆ Amazon is trying to fix employee frustration over plunging pay by letting them pledge stock for home loans in a deal with Better
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon employees, even those who have left, can pledge their stock as collateral for home mortgages. Under the new program, Amazon employees will be able to use their vested stock as collateral in the home-buying process, Better said in a statement on Tuesday. The company's stock price hovered around $93.50 on Tuesday morning — a drop from more than $150 a year ago. The home loan benefit applies to both "current and former Amazon employees with vested equity in Amazon," per Better's statement. Amazon employees have flagged concerns about the company's compensation packages trailing those of its Big Tech peers.

☆ Amazon reviewing unprofitable business units to cut costs - WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 10 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) is reviewing unprofitable business units, including the devices division that houses its voice assistant Alexa, to cut costs, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, sending the e-commerce company's shares up 11%. Following a months-long review, Amazon has told employees in some unprofitable units to look for jobs elsewhere in the company, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. The devices unit had an operating loss of more than $5 billion a year, WSJ reported citing documents. "We're of course taking into account the current macro-environment and considering opportunities to optimize costs," Amazon spokesperson Brad Glasser said. Last week, Amazon said it will freeze hiring to corporate workforce for the next few months due to an "unusual macro-economic environment".

☆ Analysis: Silicon Valley's greatest minds misread pandemic demand. Now their employees are paying for it.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN Business —In the early months of the pandemic, Facebook only grew bigger and more central to our lives. On Wednesday, however, Zuckerberg reversed course and laid off more than 11,000 employees, marking the most significant cuts in the company’s history. In a memo to staff, Zuckerberg coughed up some of the hardest words in the English language. The Federal Reserve maintained near-zero interest rates at the time, giving tech companies easier access to capital. And private and public market valuations for tech companies only seemed to go higher.

☆ A hiring freeze finally comes to Amazon Web Services as enterprise spending slows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Katherine Long | Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Meanwhile, at least two AWS engineering orgs are planning to freeze headcount until the end of 2023, according to two current employees. People who depart may be replaced, but the goal is to keep total headcount static, according to two of the current employees. AWS reported its slowest revenue growth ever last quarter, which Olsavsky attributed to reduced enterprise spending as cloud customers gird themselves for potential economic turmoil. Amazon announced a hiring freeze in its advertising business on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported. The New York Post reported last week on a hiring freeze in AWS.

☆ Amazon is forcing some logistics employees to relocate to Phoenix or lose their jobs, a sign that its 'return to an office-centric culture' is finally here
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Katherine Long | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Amazon told employees of its logistics operations center they must go into the office in person. Many of those employees were hired as remote workers in the past two years, meaning some will be forced to relocate to the hub's Phoenix offices – or lose their jobs. The freight logistics hub these employees work at, called the Relay Operations Center, is responsible for responding to unexpected shipping disruptions. Inside Amazon, remote work remains popular. Relay Operations Center employees did not take the survey, the results of which were obtained by Insider.

☆ Amazon shutters 'ORCA' robotics team and 'Explore' travel venture in its latest sign of a hyper-focus on frugality
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Katherine Long | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon is shuttering a virtual travel division and a warehouse robotics team, Insider has learned. Amazon is scrapping another warehouse robotics team, ORCA, amid a larger reduction in robotics personnel. It's not clear how many people worked on the ORCA team. In addition, the company is ending Amazon Explore, a virtual travel experiences platform launched amid pandemic lockdowns in late 2020. In an all-hands meeting this week, Amazon executives instructed employees to tighten their belts.

Search resuls for: "Brad Glasser"

24 mentions found