Amazon Founder, Fmr. Miami Resident Under Fire Over Alleged Working Conditions
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) --- Online retail giant Amazon is under fire for what is being called stressful and unrealistic working conditions.
Its founder, who graduated from Palmetto High is now responding to a New York Times expose of the company and what is being described as a negative work culture.
Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas In A Bruising Workplace appeared in Saturday's edition of the paper. In it, author Jodi Kantor said she interviewed one hundred former and current employees and was surprised to hear some of their claims.
One former employee said, "You walk out of a conference room and you see a grown man covering his face."
The employee went on to say, "nearly every person I worked with, I saw cry at their desk."
"One of the most fascinating beliefs at Amazon is that being somewhat socially cohesive and making people feel good does not always produce the best results," said Kantor.
There were many more negatives. Employees were quoted as saying they'd receive emails after midnight and were criticized for not immediately responding.
Another employee said she didn't sleep for four days straight. One other employee's fiancé started driving to Amazon at 10 p.m. each night to pick up his future wife because he had to force her to leave work after she'd been there all day on a regular basis.
Amazon's growth has been phenomenal. The online retail giant has more than 183,000 thousand full and part-time employees. The company created almost 155,000 jobs in the last five years.
Senior vice president of global affairs at Amazon and former White House press secretary Jay Carney said much of the article couldn't be substantiated because some of the employees quoted were not identified.
"Amazon wouldn't be the success it is if it were the company the New York Times wrote about. It's people could walk away anytime they wanted. These are folks who are in much demand when it comes to jobs in well-paying industries," said Carney.
The employees didn't complain about pay, saying the company was competitive in that area.
It wasn't all negative either. Many former employees said Amazon helped bring out the best in them and even contributed to their careers taking off at other companies.
