Is it really complicated?
Workers are drones to be squeezed for all they have and then discarded.
When Sears Flourished, So Did Workers. At Amazon, It’s More Complicated
31–40 of 149 posts
Re: When Sears Flourished, So Did Workers. At Amazon, It’s More Complicated
#32Sears' huge pension liabilities was cited as one of the main reasons that prevented any possible re-structuring that could have saved the company when it was declining and heading to bankruptcy... I mean, let's be realistic here. For how long was Sears in this pitiful state?... Getting all that real estate + semi-established brand was a private equity's wet dream, yet nobody ever contemplated that option. And now tha…
[flagged]
[flagged]
Re: When Sears Flourished, So Did Workers. At Amazon, It’s More Complicated
#33Sears' huge pension liabilities was cited as one of the main reasons that prevented any possible re-structuring that could have saved the company when it was declining and heading to bankruptcy... I mean, let's be realistic here. For how long was Sears in this pitiful state?... Getting all that real estate + semi-established brand was a private equity's wet dream, yet nobody ever contemplated that option. And now tha…
I don’t necessarily disagree with many of your points, but I think drawing attention to the end of Sears’ lifecycle is an unfair thing. Someday Amazon too will have an end of life, and employees and shareholders will get fucked over then too. The article also draws attention to how workers benefited _in good times_ at Sears, not near the end. And this is where the comparison is most meaningful, where Amazon is more q…
Agreed. I worked at Sears in college (~15 years ago) loading dock/warehouse. It was a great job at the time. Good pay, plenty of hours, and generally good managers. The downfall of Sears had very little to do with wages, but Amazon crushing all brick and mortar stores.
We were dependent on foot traffic, and sales flyers in the Sunday paper - things that don't do much today.
Re: When Sears Flourished, So Did Workers. At Amazon, It’s More Complicated
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
Amazon realized that they kept getting a black eye because of their wages so of course they pivoted. Now some workers are probably worse off. I blame the media for only caring about sensationalist headlines.
What nonsense. Many thousands of workers will be compensated much better. Other retailers will have to increase their wages. This is a good outcome.
Did you even read the article? Many thousands of workers will be compensated less. The higher wages came at the cost of no more free stocks.
Re: When Sears Flourished, So Did Workers. At Amazon, It’s More Complicated
#35Why does the article keep comparing warehouse workers at Amazon with salespeople at Sears? Those don't seem like comparable positions (sales comp is often very performance based) and thus, compensation wouldn't be the same.
Maybe compare the salespeople at Sears with account managers or some similar position at Amazon?
Re: When Sears Flourished, So Did Workers. At Amazon, It’s More Complicated
#36Why does NYT have it out for Amazon? Is it because Mr Bezos owns a rival paper?
I don’t know that the NYT has it out for Bezos, but he’s a very easy target. He has a long reputation of treating employees badly while amassing enormous wealth.
Re: When Sears Flourished, So Did Workers. At Amazon, It’s More Complicated
#37Why does NYT have it out for Amazon? Is it because Mr Bezos owns a rival paper?
I've noticed that the NYT has it out for anything remotely related to capitalism. Didn't they put out a article a while back about how Jeff Bezos becoming so rich is terrible, and they purposely neglected to mention the millions of Americans that also gained in wealth due to Jeff's actions.
These days the NYT is doing some very biased reporting.
Re: When Sears Flourished, So Did Workers. At Amazon, It’s More Complicated
#38Why does NYT have it out for Amazon? Is it because Mr Bezos owns a rival paper?
I don’t know that the NYT has it out for Bezos, but he’s a very easy target. He has a long reputation of treating employees badly while amassing enormous wealth.
Yes, it's just this simple. I don't know why more people can't understand how basic this is.
Re: When Sears Flourished, So Did Workers. At Amazon, It’s More Complicated
#39I joined Amazon as an SDE 1 in early 2015. I was promoted to an SDE 2 in q4 2016. I just was promoted this year to SDE 3. Hard work, navigating to the right projects, and managing both upwards and down... senior and junior people on my part... I feel a bit ripped off. I'm not sure I would have wanted to get promoted knowing where my comp now falls. The thing I'm unhappy about is that my target comp isn't actually tha…
> My total comp this year is upwards of $250k
This attitude is why there's been so much pushback against tech in places like San Francisco and Seattle.
Re: When Sears Flourished, So Did Workers. At Amazon, It’s More Complicated
#40Sears' huge pension liabilities was cited as one of the main reasons that prevented any possible re-structuring that could have saved the company when it was declining and heading to bankruptcy... I mean, let's be realistic here. For how long was Sears in this pitiful state?... Getting all that real estate + semi-established brand was a private equity's wet dream, yet nobody ever contemplated that option. And now tha…
I don’t necessarily disagree with many of your points, but I think drawing attention to the end of Sears’ lifecycle is an unfair thing. Someday Amazon too will have an end of life, and employees and shareholders will get fucked over then too. The article also draws attention to how workers benefited _in good times_ at Sears, not near the end. And this is where the comparison is most meaningful, where Amazon is more q…
The difference is that most Amazon employees have defined contribution retirement plans rather than defined benefit pensions. So Amazon is less likely to end up in a death spiral due to unsustainable expenses. And if Amazon does go bankrupt the employees' retirement funds won't be impacted (unless they invested in company stock).