this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2023
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Amazon CEO Andy Jassy warns remote workers: 'It's probably not going to work out for you'::Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told employees who defy his edict to return to the office three days a week that "it's probably not going to work out for you."

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[–] [email protected] 304 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Jassy told his employees that he spoke to scores of other CEOs and that “virtually all of them” preferred having their employees back in the office.

CEOs try not to think they're the center of the world, the challenge.

[–] [email protected] 204 points 1 year ago

"Should workers be subjected to pointless and dehumanizing drudgery that serves no practical purpose? Find out what this panel of five overpaid CEOs think, after the break."

[–] [email protected] 151 points 1 year ago (1 children)

In other unbiased polling, the wolf spoke to all the other wolves in the pack and they all prefer that the sheep be eaten.

[–] [email protected] 59 points 1 year ago

In similar fashion, an unprecedented unanimous vote was casted by all the worm hunting birds: worms should not live underground.

[–] [email protected] 60 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Workers should unionize. I don't know if its better but I know it's something they hate

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[–] [email protected] 40 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I spoke with virtually all of the workers, and none of them want to pay rent. Yet here we are.

CEOs can get bent through a videocall

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[–] [email protected] 183 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Maybe tech workers will finally unionize

[–] [email protected] 64 points 1 year ago

Nah, we're still high on our own farts to realise they can turn foul rather quickly.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 year ago (5 children)

It's not looking good for programers in particular.

The reason why the can get paid as much as they want is 100% based on you being able to jump ship form company to company without having to wait for a company to find common ground between you and them through a union.

Sure, they'll still be hugely compensated but tech companies will keep abusing interns, freelancers. Obviously outsourcing will explode even more than it already has in the last 10 years.

[–] [email protected] 57 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (11 children)

True, but that's why you do a trade union instead of a company union. And programmers have a lot to gain. These companies, shareholders, and CEOs rake in billions that could be going to employees.

A programmer will make a feature that saves the company a million dollars and they'll get paid $100,000 to build it.

Now is the best time for programmers to unionize. Do it when you already have leverage to make sure the good times stay good. Otherwise, we'll eventually be as replaceable as drafters are now.

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I don't buy it. This isn't the only mechanism, probably not even the most important one, for why salaries are where they are. Shortage of and especially of highly competent programmers is. In fact this actually underpins why jumping ship is even as easy as it is. Uninionization will provide additional leverage, while not diminishing the shortage pressure. Part of the point is that this leverage can substitute the leverage we have due to the current shortage, if and when it diminishes.

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago (6 children)

Too many libertarians in tech. Will never happen.

Source. In tech. Not libertarian.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago

I wish. A union could have easily prevented this.

[–] [email protected] 168 points 1 year ago (9 children)

It's the commercial real estate mortgage backed securities market. If everyone doesn't pay office rent the collateralized debt of those places goes kaput, the security implodes like 2008 and the banking industry goes under.

These CEOs are all invested. They don't care about productivity, it's all about saving their investments.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 year ago

Aww darn. Thoughts and prayers for the banks and the investors. /s

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

Maybe they should be better business men and should have foreseen this.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago (2 children)

This. I've been saying and seeing it since Covid. Offices are half empty. Main street footfall is shrinking. These zones are high premiun rents, owned by REITs and other comercial founds. If they are not occupied and ppl is not consuming on the next door shops, assets value is gone down. More colateral is going to be asked from their lenders. Also, municipalities don't want to lose population as this can result on less budget from government.. Of course they are going to put pressure on their CEO buddies to have spenders back to office.

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[–] [email protected] 162 points 1 year ago (2 children)

The mentality of these people are like slave owners.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

It's all the same families. The American Oligarchy.

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[–] [email protected] 110 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Amazon employees who refused to relocate near main offices of their teams were told they either have to find a new job internally or leave the company through a “voluntary resignation.”

How dumb does he think people are? This just makes me angry because they're probably going to get away with it too.

[–] [email protected] 56 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Why would you quit? Continue working from home while lining up a new job. Or, if they don't specify how long you have to be in on those 3 days, just clock in and go back home an hour later. Game the system, make it work for you. They do.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago

lmao, "voluntary resignation" is hilarious. If you plan to purge everyone who won't relocate, you're gonna have to do a layoff. This isn't one of those layoffs that will impress investors, because it won't represent efficiency or cost savings, but instead corporate dysfunction.

If your workers aren't voluntarily relocating to return to the office, they're certainly not going to voluntarily forfeit their unemployment benefits by quitting. They'll just stop working and wait for the pink slip.

Unless they plan to attach a severance more valuable that unemployment benefits to the resignation, they're fucking dreaming. Even so, that would be a hilarious misstep to offer Amazon employees a voluntary paid exit, because it would undoubtedly result in an unsustainable wave of resignations across the org.

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[–] [email protected] 105 points 1 year ago (1 children)

More likely that it doesn't work out for Jassy. Certain Amazon units are underperforming under his leadership, and I wouldn't be shocked if his time at Amazon didn't last that much longer.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 year ago (6 children)

You can only artificially raise the price of real estate for so long.

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[–] [email protected] 100 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's a really nice way of threatening to take away the livelihood and health insurance of people doing work for you.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Today's workers are too nice...

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[–] [email protected] 97 points 1 year ago (4 children)
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[–] [email protected] 76 points 1 year ago (10 children)

Given how many millions of people must have used Amazon to order stuff to work from home over the past 3+ years, this is a really weird position to hold. You'd think this guy would be all about everyone kitting out their home office spaces.

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[–] [email protected] 48 points 1 year ago (1 children)

A voluntary resignation? Good luck with that!

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 year ago

“Yes, I assure you they voluntarily resigned. They tried to resist it but we forced it on them.”

[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I've gotten so much recruitment crap from Amazon. This kind of crap is why none of those worked out for them.

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[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 year ago (7 children)

I think my favorite part of the Amazon RTO is the fact that there are many offices that charge you to park there

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago

When I worked in an office I had to pay for parking in addition to paying for gas and wear and tear, ALLLLLLLL so I could have the very valuable experience of working in an open concept office that is perpetually loud and distracting

But yeah… wfh is totally bad for productivity… give me a fucking break

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 year ago

Remote Workers warn Amazon CEO Any Jassy: 'Working for a tyrant is probably not going to work out for us."

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 year ago (6 children)

And also start the compensated-hours clock the moment I step into the car. We're giving you eight hours a day, not 12 now.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago

Gonna need a hot lunch provided, laundry on-site, dog walkers, child care, a gym and a space where I can play guitar when I'm on a break

Oooh you wanted me to give all that up for nothing? In that case you can get bent, get fucked, roll over and get fucked again. I left three jobs over RTO mandates. Every time I left it was for more money. Now I'm at a place that doesn't even have an office, just Google meet and a PO box for physical mail.

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago

This is readily admitting he's about to do what's called Constructive Dismissal!

Which means he will owe all remote workers their severance pay.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago

I was looking at some of the Amazon postings near me, but they're all down in Irvine.

Pretty much the entire talents pool of LA is off limits to Amazon now.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 year ago (2 children)

As the planet burns down they think it's a great idea to force more fossil fuels usage so they can feel important

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago (2 children)

You know what's probably not going to work out for you, Andy Jassy? The next proletariat uprising.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago (2 children)

That's never going to happen.

What really won't work out for him is retention of top talent that values WFH.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago

Nah, I'm fine at home.

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