‘We will pay you to resign’
LOTS of companies pay their staff bonuses to boost morale, but Amazon has found a less orthodox method: the Seattle tech giant is bribing unhappy staff to quit.
In a letter headed “Please don’t take this offer”, it has taken the unusual step of offering people who have worked in its warehouse for less than a year $2 000 (about R21 000) to walk out the door.
The figure rises $1 000 for every year worked, up to a maximum of $5 000.
The move comes at a time when Amazon is steadily hiring staff for its packing centres across the US, adding an additional 2 500 jobs last quarter. However, it hopes the “Pay to Quit” initiative will weed out those workers who are bringing down morale.
“The goal is to encourage folks to take a moment and think about what they really want,” said CEO Jeff Bezos. “In the long run, an employee staying somewhere they don’t want to be isn’t healthy for the employee or the company.”
Amazon is not the first company to use this method. In California, Netflix, the internet streaming company, uses a similar offer to get rid of mediocre office staff to free up positions for people who might perform better. — © The Daily Telegraph, London