Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Jeff Bezos Responds to NY Times article

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos didn't take kindly to the NY Times article about the horrible work environment at Amazon and angrily responded in a memo to his workers. The Hollywood Reporter posted his entire memo here. (I'll translate a few of the quotes for you. My comments are in parenthesis)

*"The article doesn’t describe the Amazon I know or the caring Amazonians I work with every day." (7 days a week, 22 hours a day)

*"Even if it’s rare or isolated, our tolerance for any such lack of empathy needs to be zero." (And would somebody please send this perfect example of my mensch-ness to whats-her-name in the hospital? I deleted her contact info when she got sick.)

*"I also encourage you to read this very different take by a current Amazonian:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/amazonians-response-inside-amazon-wrestling-big-ideas-nick-ciubotariu" (And by all means, tell him what you think of this piece in his new corner office)

*"The article goes further than reporting isolated anecdotes. It claims that our intentional approach is to create a soulless, dystopian workplace where no fun is had and no laughter heard. Again, I don’t recognize this Amazon. (That's why the beatings will continue until morale improves. Get it? That's a joke. Don't EVER say I don't joke again)

*"I strongly believe that anyone working in a company that really is like the one described in the NYT would be crazy to stay." (But just so you know, those non-compete clauses will cost you a few hundred Gs to litigate in court.)