Bezos says Amazon needs to take better care of staff
We need to do better at taking care of employees, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos says in his annual letter to shareholders. Bezos is just about to step down from the position as CEO and taking up the role as executive chairman. However, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union was not impressed calling Bezos’ statement another PR effort in damage control.
“Our interactions with employees are many, and they’re fine-grained. It’s not just about the pay and the benefits. It’s about all the other detailed aspects of the relationship too”, Bezos writes.
He comments on recent attempts by employees in Alabama to create a union for the employees which the company has fiercely resisted:
“Does your Chair take comfort in the outcome of the recent union vote in Bessemer? No, he doesn’t. I think we need to do a better job for our employees. While the voting results were lopsided and our direct relationship with employees is strong, it’s clear to me that we need a better vision for how we create value for employees – a vision for their success.”
SECOND LARGEST EMPLOYER
Amazon is the second-largest private employer in the US. There has been quite some focus on staffers complaining against how the company treats staff include rules for breaks etc. Bezos addresses the criticism in his letter:
“If you read some of the news reports, you might think we have no care for employees. In those reports, our employees are sometimes accused of being desperate souls and treated as robots. That’s not accurate. They’re sophisticated and thoughtful people who have options for where to work. When we survey fulfillment center employees, 94% say they would recommend Amazon to a friend as a place to work.”
TAKING BREAKS
“Employees are able to take informal breaks throughout their shifts to stretch, get water, use the rest room, or talk to a manager, all without impacting their performance. These informal work breaks are in addition to the 30-minute lunch and 30-minute break built into their normal schedule.”
“We don’t set unreasonable performance goals. We set achievable performance goals that take into account tenure and actual employee performance data. Performance is evaluated over a long period of time as we know that a variety of things can impact performance in any given week, day, or hour. If employees are on track to miss a performance target over a period of time, their manager talks with them and provides coaching.”
NOT IMPRESSED
Bezos said he planned to work on how to make Amazon’s workhouses safer in his new role as executive chairman.
The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union in a statement said “his admission won’t change anything, workers need a union – not just another Amazon public relations effort in damage control.”
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