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Amazon says it didn't cut people because of money. But because of 'culture'

cnn.com

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Re: Amazon says it didn't cut people because of money. But because of 'culture'

#31

Post by josefritzishere »

amyjess wrote: post #11

> “We are committed to operating like the world’s largest startup, and … that means removing layers.” I learned a long time ago that behaving like a startup is not a good thing, and I've specifically oriented my career towards working at companies that don't even want to pretend to imitate startup culture. I'm very happy in enterprise-land.

I have worked at both and... well they're just very different. It's mostly trade offs. What specifically for y'all?

Re: Amazon says it didn't cut people because of money. But because of 'culture'

#33

Post by eitally »

jrauser wrote: post #28
GiorgioG wrote: post #4

Best decision I ever made was repeatedly ignoring emails from Amazon recruiters while they were allowing remote work around the pandemic. Fuck that place.

One of the better decisions I ever made was not ignoring emails from folks recruiting for Amazon in 2003. It was a different place back then, and truly like "the world's largest startup." The other thing that was different back then was that the people I worked with were all so blindingly smart. I'm pretty smart, but in 2003 I often felt like the dumbest person in the room[1]. In 2025 that feeling was rare, and not s…

I think it's reasonable to s/amazon/google in this post -- it's equally true there.

Re: Amazon says it didn't cut people because of money. But because of 'culture'

#34

Post by neilv »

Hello, highly experienced engineer prospective hire. Tell me about a time when some memorized interview behavioral question, in STAR format. Now do this coding screening despite all your experience. Now tell me you want to be an engineer in a startup, and not in huge company of metrics-gaming and routine stack ranking cullings.

Re: Amazon says it didn't cut people because of money. But because of 'culture'

#35

Post by supportengineer »

amyjess wrote: post #11

> “We are committed to operating like the world’s largest startup, and … that means removing layers.” I learned a long time ago that behaving like a startup is not a good thing, and I've specifically oriented my career towards working at companies that don't even want to pretend to imitate startup culture. I'm very happy in enterprise-land.

It's hard to beat the authority and responsibility one personally has at a startup.

Re: Amazon says it didn't cut people because of money. But because of 'culture'

#36

Post by thih9 »

somanyphotons wrote: post #17
amyjess wrote: post #11

> “We are committed to operating like the world’s largest startup, and … that means removing layers.” I learned a long time ago that behaving like a startup is not a good thing, and I've specifically oriented my career towards working at companies that don't even want to pretend to imitate startup culture. I'm very happy in enterprise-land.

What are the aspects that you're looking for from enterprise-land

Sane workload, work hours and vacation days for a start.

It’s 2025 and I still see “unlimited PTO” in many places.

Re: Amazon says it didn't cut people because of money. But because of 'culture'

#38

Post by googlywoogly »

jrauser wrote: post #28
GiorgioG wrote: post #4

Best decision I ever made was repeatedly ignoring emails from Amazon recruiters while they were allowing remote work around the pandemic. Fuck that place.

One of the better decisions I ever made was not ignoring emails from folks recruiting for Amazon in 2003. It was a different place back then, and truly like "the world's largest startup." The other thing that was different back then was that the people I worked with were all so blindingly smart. I'm pretty smart, but in 2003 I often felt like the dumbest person in the room[1]. In 2025 that feeling was rare, and not s…

It's still easy to feel like the dumbest person in the room at Amazon... until you cut through the bullshit and realize everyone else in the room is a complete impostor skilled in maximalization, social engineering, politics, and nothing else.

Re: Amazon says it didn't cut people because of money. But because of 'culture'

#39

Post by seg_lol »

Izikiel43 wrote: post #8
GiorgioG wrote: post #4

Best decision I ever made was repeatedly ignoring emails from Amazon recruiters while they were allowing remote work around the pandemic. Fuck that place.

Yeah, Amazon is in my list of “won’t work there” places. Too many horror stories.

Then their information campaign is working. They need bodies for the grinder, not free thinkers with agency and autonomy. Much like the obvious spam scam messages with glaring typos, Amazon signals to the market that driven corporate cogs that will shiv someone to get ahead need only apply.

Re: Amazon says it didn't cut people because of money. But because of 'culture'

#40

Post by lotsofpulp »

thih9 wrote: post #36
somanyphotons wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are the aspects that you're looking for from enterprise-land

Sane workload, work hours and vacation days for a start. It’s 2025 and I still see “unlimited PTO” in many places.

That comes with high profit margin and moat (for your specific labor, not just the business's moat).

If you don't have leverage, you won't get those things regardless of enterprise or small business.

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