Amazon offers employees $5,000 to quit

[cbdo2007]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Amazon is offering its warehouse employees up to $5,000 to quit their jobs, even as the company is in the process of adding workers and locations.

The "Pay to Quit" program, which was announced by CEO Jeff Bezos in his letter to shareholders late Thursday, is an effort to make sure that the Internet retailer's employees really want to be there.

"The goal is to encourage folks to take a moment and think about what they really want," he wrote in the letter. "In the long-run, an employee staying somewhere they don't want to be isn't healthy for the employee or the company."

Bezos said the offer is made under the headline "Please Don't Take This Offer." Amazon offers to pay its associates to quit once a year. At first, employees are offered $2,000 to quit. That offer is increased by $1,000 each year until the amount hits $5,000.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=post&forum=1002

[Jacoby365]

1. I'm trying to wrap my head around this.

Amazon is offering to pay an employee with five years of service $5000 to quit, instead of rewarding them with a bonus for five years of service?

[melm00se]

2. from the OP

Bezos said the offer is made under the headline "Please Don't Take This Offer." Amazon offers to pay its associates to quit once a year. At first, employees are offered $2,000 to quit. That offer is increased by $1,000 each year until the amount hits $5,000.

based upon this (and other things in the OP) it sounds like Amazon makes this offer to ensure than the employee truly wants to be there. Bezos is right: having employees who don't want to be there is not healthy for the worker or the company.

[JHB]

4. It sounds more like a PR ploy to me

"See, they didn't take the quitting bonus. No need for workplace conditions/safety regulation or raising the minimum wage, they've all said they're OK with the way it is now."

[Jacoby365]

5. My first thought

was that for every employee that takes the money and moves on, Amazon will save money over the long run. New hires are happy to have a job, and are willing to except the lower starting wages. Reminds me of my old union job, when during contract negotiations, the company offered to pay each employee $1000 in cash instead of getting a raise that year. Funny how most employees loved the idea, but if you did the math, if was easy to see that each employee would lose much more than that when you factor in future raises based on a percentage of income.

[sendero]

3. You have to give this guy..

... (Bezos) credit for thinking out of the box. I don't like everything he's done but I get why he is doing this and I think it's brilliant.

[snooper2]

6. Good idea, we had layoffs a while back, and one of my co-workers wanted a package

He is getting up there in age and said I would have taken a package but he is still here, getting more lazy every day.



Package meaning 4 weeks severance + a week of pay for each year of employment-

[Lancero]

7. What I want to know is...

What happens if a person who accepts this offer, later reapplies for the job?

I'm not talking about next month, or that. I'm talking about a few years down the line.

[dilby]

8. Most of the companies I have worked for you are not elgible for rehire if you quit.

My current company will not rehire you even if you leave on good terms, they have brought people back as sub-contractors but they are not full fledged employees.