Complaints from Amazon workers about the company's culture, often shared on anonymous and internal forums, became public this week through a widely discussed LinkedIn post that resonated with many current employees. The post, shared by former Amazon employee Stephanie Ramos, criticised the company's bureaucracy. "Instead of the exciting, fast-paced environment I remember, I experienced a place bogged down in pointless meetings and middling middle managers," Ramos explained, detailing her decision to leave just three months after being rehired by Amazon.
Ramos shared her thoughts on Monday afternoon, and by the end of the week, her post had garnered over 100,000 views. Among the more than 200 comments, about 20 came from current Amazon employees across various departments worldwide, many of whom expressed criticism of the company.
One user wrote, “I've been at Amazon almost 20 years now and trust me, it is hard to stay. Right now its only self preservation and ageism in the job market that is stopping me from leaving. I remember my first week here as a contractor and how exciting it was. Not perfect, women were still treated poorly, but different. Not uptight and stiff like most companies were in the early 2000's. What it has become reminds me of an old school banking environment. I'm waiting for a dress code to be implemented after 5 days a week starts. Hide those tattoos!”
“Their mental model is now one of pleasing the shareholders and getting tax breaks for bringing people into major cities to spend their money. It's not one that puts customers first or the environment. This is not how you foster innovation or even collaboration, but that clearly doesn't seem to matter,” he added.
Some LinkedIn users questioned Andy Jassy's leadership. “I mourn for the loss of what once was. Your post does a great job of capturing what has been lost. Love him or hate him, Bezos had courage and a vision- he had real all hands meetings that weren’t pre-recorded with hard questions asked and answered which weren’t pre-screened. The truth is Jassy has no courage and no vision - everything is pre-recorded and questions are pre-screened to make sure there is nothing difficult,” reads one of the comments.
Another internet user wrote, “Thanks for this. It's not the same company I first joined in 2018 and doesn't seem to want to be. And like you, I don't think the LPs reflect the reality anymore. In my last year, I saw them weaponised more than I saw them used to inspire or provide guidance.”
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