Written October 18, 2022 2:41 p.mUpdated on October 20, 2022 at 13:11
Amazon struggles to retain its employees, and it costs it dearly. By 2021, only one in three employees was with Amazon more than 90 days after being hired. And according to internal documents consulted by the specialized site “Engadget”, the cost of this “big layoff” amounts to 8 billion dollars a year for the company. An astronomical amount, the details of which are not disclosed, but must be compared with the net profit of $33.36 billion that Amazon generated in 2021.
In most cases, the Seattle group, which employs nearly 1.6 million people worldwide, is not directly responsible for these premature departures. According to these documents, cases of resignations are twice as many as dismissals. And if Amazon is known for its sometimes difficult working conditions in its warehouses, the figures revealed by “Engadget” underline that more qualified employees are also worried: the rate of resignations varies between 69.5% and 81.3% depending on the level .
Brilliant Basics
The lack of “prospects for development and promotion” would be the top of the reasons to push managers to leave the company early. As well as painting a “bleak picture of Amazon’s ability to retain its employees”, these documents emphasize that the group is misusing the data it has at its disposal to monitor their training and progress. “An ironic shortcoming for a reputable company to compulsorily collect consumer data,” tackles the media.
Three years ago, however, Amazon created a service dedicated to “talent strategy, management and development.” With an annual budget of $90 million, its 615 employees are responsible for 97 training programs and 2,000 learning modules.
Problem: the impact of most of these programs would be poorly assessed, both from an economic and human point of view. “The fact that Amazon commissioned internal reports on its training program failures suggests that the company is aware of the problem,” notes Engadget. “We will do everything we can to make Amazon an employer of choice,” Amazon explains. The company is expected to streamline its model from June, as part of a new program called Brilliant Basics.
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