Amazon’s ‘purposeful Darwinism’

How internet giant uses ‘purposeful Darwinism’

IT’S the world’s biggest online r etailer which prides itself on stocking everything you could possibly desire.

But behind Amazon’s success lies something far uglier, if the latest investigation into its working practices is to be believed.

From employees crying at their desks to annual staff culls designed to foster a culture of fear, merciless conditions at the company have been described by more than 100 workers.

Bosses are said to push staff so far past breaking point that they ‘practically combust’, while regular sackings to keep workers on their toes were described by one HR manager as ‘purposeful Darwinism’.

According to the expose, the company’s best workers are known as ‘Amabots’ – because they are so ‘at one with the system’ they are almost cyborgs.

One employee in the marketing department said he had seen virtually all his colleagues in tears at the office, while another recruit said that when they ‘hit the wall’ due to the fast pace, they were told: ‘Climb the wall.’

More than 100 current and former Amazon workers were interviewed for the New York Times investigation.

Looking at life inside Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle – set to expand to ten million sq ft – the piece describes how new recruits are told to forget the ‘poor habits’ they learned at previous jobs.

It claims workers put in at least 80 hours a week and are sent emails long past midnight, followed up by text messages if they are not answered.

Employees are encouraged to report on their colleagues’ progress to bosses using a feedback tool, which lets them criticise or praise others discreetly.

An example comment is: ‘I felt concerned about his inflexibility and openly complaining about minor tasks.’

Some workers even claimed that staff who had been diagnosed with cancer or suffered miscarriages were not given enough time to recover.

Former marketing executive Bo Olson described the ruthless culture, saying: ‘You walk out of a conference room and you’ll see a grown man covering his face.

‘Nearly every person I worked with I saw cry at their desk’.

The piece claims the company’s mantra is ‘conflict brings about innovation’ – and that staff who succeed can be rewarded with stock options that double their pay.

Unlike tech firms such as Google – which provides free lunches and shuttle buses for staff – Amazon employees have to pay for their own transport.

The retail giant has drawn up 14 ‘leadership principles’ which are inscribed on cards, the top of which is ‘customer obsession’.

Such is the devotion that Amazon requires, an ex- employee who sold gift cards to other firms claimed she once did not sleep for four days straight.

The investigation claims that Amazon retains workers by making them repay some of their signing bonus if they leave within a year. They also have to return some relocation money if they resign within two years.

Former employee Chris Brucia, who worked on a new Amazon fashion website in 2012, said he was savaged by his boss for half an hour during a performance review which l eft him thinking he would be fired.

But at the end, the boss told him: ‘Congratulations, you’re being promoted.’

His manager then gave him a hug, which he was too shocked to return.

Among other bizarre revelations was a claim that Amazon has installed a button in the toilets to call for a replacement loo roll, so employees do not have to track down a cleaner.

Amazon took £5.3billion in sales last year, while founder Jeff Bezos has a fortune of £30.1billion, according to Forbes.

A spokesman f or Amazon declined to comment, but referred the Mail to an online blog by Nick Ciubotariu from its Search Experience department. He wrote that some of the claims in the article were ‘completely false’ and accused the New York Times of writing sensationalist ‘reader bait’.

‘Men covering their faces’