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Leaked Amazon memo warns the company is running out of people to hire

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Re: Leaked Amazon memo warns the company is running out of people to hire

#71

Post by throwaway894345 »

zozbot234 wrote: post #53
throwaway894345 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hadn't really thought before about how left-wing folks typically want higher wages as well as more mass immigration which inherently suppresses wages. In their defense, they want raises waged by law rather than by market (an elevated minimum wage would raise wages irrespective of immigration), but considering how unlikely a minimum federal wage hike is, it seems like they're pursuing two contradictory goals. EDIT:…

Some parts of the right have advocated for more skilled immigration, which would tend to equalize wages across the board (mitigating a non-trivial cause of inequality) while raising fewer social concerns compared to the unregulated immigration of lower-skill workers. Unfortunately, many left-wing folks tend to oppose such proposals, with the usual 'they tuk er jerbs!!1' arguments. Just look at the reactions here at H…

I'm not sure that H1B visas are a particularly politically polarized position. I could easily see people on the right arguing against H1B visas on the basis that we should keep American jobs for Americans. I don't think there's broad agreement on H1Bs on the right?

Re: Leaked Amazon memo warns the company is running out of people to hire

#72

Post by spamizbad »

alangibson wrote: post #22

The Fed is about to induce 3 years worth of rising unemployment by their own estimates, so the days of workers not needing to take crap jobs out of desperation will soon be at an end. https://qz.com/2178359/the-fed-predicts-3-years-of-rising-un...

ah but it will control inflation. So when the bank repossesses your home you can rest easy knowing a gallon of milk is 7 cents cheaper.

Re: Leaked Amazon memo warns the company is running out of people to hire

#73

Post by sophacles »

kennywinker wrote: post #56
IMTDb wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There's a surplus of management eager to exploit workers. Can also be written "There's a surplus of customer eager to pay the lowest possible price even if that means exploiting workers." As shown by the success of Chinese super low cost brands wether we are talking electronics, fashion etc.

> "There's a surplus of customer eager to pay the lowest possible price even if that means exploiting workers." This is just wrong. First, Amazon’s prices and their wages for warehouse workers aren’t directly connected. If they were, amazon wouldn’t have posted 200B in profit in 2021. Given the 1.6mil employees, that’s $125k per employee of profit. Amazon could pay MUCH more, and still hold the same prices. Second, t…

It's simple, just apply modern capitalism. In this case the rule is: Ford was a genius for realizing his workers need to make enough to buy his product. Anyone else who makes that realization is a dirty commie.

Re: Leaked Amazon memo warns the company is running out of people to hire

#74

Post by alangibson »

mtnGoat wrote: post #61
azemetre wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's kind of interesting because Amazon has built a reputation for being absolutely ruthless to their workers (not just delivery or warehouse). You have the notorious NYT article from 2015 (the article mentions this): https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/technology/inside-amazon-... The online perception is that it has only gotten worse. It doesn't take much to find stories on teamblind, twitter, reddit, or even hacker…

Always remember there are many sides to most stories. I have a cousin who works at an Amazon warehouse and loves it, he says it’s the funnest and most rewarding job he has had. He’s in his late 40s and has worked all kinda of jobs. His schedule allows him a lot of work life balance, he knows exactly what is expected of him and advancement is possible and also easy to understand. In fact he said he doesn’t understand…

And he'll think that until one day they can him for missing work due to a health issue.

This is why I find a lack of solidarity between working people to be somewhere between selfish and disgusting.

Re: Leaked Amazon memo warns the company is running out of people to hire

#75

Post by [deleted] »

nxm wrote: post #70
_dqna wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Counterpoint: right wants free market so that wages rises organically through businesses competing for workers, while the left wants open borders and endless government spending that leads of inflation and lower standard of living which we are experiencing now.

[deleted]

Re: Leaked Amazon memo warns the company is running out of people to hire

#76

Post by VBprogrammer »

jaywalk wrote: post #6
blakesterz wrote: post #2

I've always wondered about this, at Amazon and also at Uber/Lyft/DoorDash etc... They seem to burn through people quite fast. Won't they all just run out of people at some point, or will just increasing pay bring enough people back?

They can only increase pay so much before they have to increase their fees beyond the point people are willing to pay them. As an anecdote, I have completely stopped using DoorDash because they recently increased their fees to a level that I consider to be absurd.

I'm not sure how much food delivery should cost. Though most local restaurants around me seen to do it for free (and tipping isn't expected, in fact it would be a struggle, most drivers drop the food and run now).

I'm not naive enough though not to notice that it's all done under the table. Few are paying tax or commercial insurance on their vehicles to do restaurant delivery.

I'm pretty sure doing it legitimately costs a reasonable amount. Doubly so when you aren't just trying to get your food to your customers but also paying a bunch of developers Silicon Valley wages to try to capture the entire market before someone else does.

Re: Leaked Amazon memo warns the company is running out of people to hire

#77

Post by aaomidi »

alangibson wrote: post #22

The Fed is about to induce 3 years worth of rising unemployment by their own estimates, so the days of workers not needing to take crap jobs out of desperation will soon be at an end. https://qz.com/2178359/the-fed-predicts-3-years-of-rising-un...

We’re also living in a volatile time. It might end up meaning a potential civil war is a lot more likely.

Desperation creates extremism. I don’t think the US is prepared for the monster it may unleash.

Re: Leaked Amazon memo warns the company is running out of people to hire

#78

Post by throwaway894345 »

duxup wrote: post #57
throwaway894345 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not trying to malign anyone here. I'm pretty sure more mass immigration is a left-wing opinion, and I thought that much was uncontroversial. I don't understand the distinction you're making between "any immigration" and "mass immigration". The US already allows a lot of immigration.

>I don't understand the distinction you're making between "any immigration" and "mass immigration". Because the amount matters? If we talk about the impact of migration the amount certainly plays into what if any impact occurs. It really seems like you're stuck on a sort of rhetorical talking point phrase.

Sure, but what's the argument? "The left wants some immigration, but not a lot"? Because we already have "some" immigration, so presumably they want more immigration, and presumably they oppose constraining that immigration by education level or wealth or etc, hence "mass".

In other words, "mass" doesn't refer to an amount, but a lack of filtration/selection/etc. Note also that this isn't even an inherently bad thing--there's something noble about wanting America's doors open to everyone: "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...".

Re: Leaked Amazon memo warns the company is running out of people to hire

#79

Post by happytoexplain »

throwaway894345 wrote: post #48
reaperducer wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hadn't really thought before about how left-wing folks Can't HN be the one place on the internet that isn't sullied by tribalism?

I don't have a political tribe, I'm not a partisan, etc. I was hoping HN would be the one place on the Internet where we could discuss things maturely. Notably, I'm not attacking left-wing people or viewpoints here, but observing that there are two goals that are in apparent conflict (which isn't to say they contradict each other or that they're ignoble or anything else).

>I'm not attacking left-wing people

You said "left-wing folks typically want ... more mass immigration", which I disagree with, though not with any real authority or conviction (I wrote a separate comment about it). The rub is - coming from most people on the internet at large, I would assume that statement was purposefully uncharitable, but I think on HN, the chances that a person (you, in this case) is being honest are higher (i.e. that your opinion that left-wing people want more mass immigration is derived honestly and holistically to the best of your ability, regardless of whether there is a reasonable argument against it out there somewhere).

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