Amazon's 'Hard Choices': Axing 30,000, Not Exec Bonuses
Amazon is reportedly preparing to jettison 30,000 corporate employees, with Target and Paramount Skydance also joining the 'pre-holiday belt-tightening.' Axios describes this as a shift in a 'frozen labor market,' even as they note 'record highs in the stock market and signs of strong economic growth.' Funny how that 'growth' never quite trickles down when it's time for quarterly balance sheets.
The real equilibrium is executive compensation remaining stratospheric, while the labor force is reminded of their expendability. One might wonder if Amazon's CEO, Andy Jassy, who pulled in over $212 million in 2021, will be tightening his own belt. Or if the company's near-trillion-dollar market cap means these layoffs are less about economic necessity and more about maximizing shareholder
returns during this period of 'strong growth.' It appears some 'hard choices' are only ever made by those who don't face the consequences.