Amazon wants a do-over on employee pay raises, saying a software bug led to artificially high numbers.
Amazon has been struggling with employee satisfaction for some time, with its attrition rate for its most desirable employees doubling in recent years. The company increased its maximum base salary to $350,000 in February in an effort to keep employees happy, but it may have wiped out any goodwill it generated.
Unfortunately for the company, its latest raise did not go smoothly, according to Business Insider. Amazon’s software evidently used an older, higher stock price to calculate bonuses, resulting in many corporate employees initially being told they would receive a larger compensation package than intended. The issue especially impacted employees that were recently promoted.
Rather than honor the initial amount, Amazon sent out an email to managers informing them the packages would be smaller than promised. Having seen both the email and an internal trouble ticket, Insider says as many as 40% of employees promoted this quarter were “impacted by this issue.”
Needless to say, Amazon’s handling of the debacle is not going over well, with employees accusing the company of nickel-and-diming them. One employee said Amazon was “taking away something that somewhat made us whole.”
Amazon representative Brad Glasser told Insider the company “identified and immediately corrected an issue with some newly promoted employees’ compensation communications.”
“We are working with employees to ensure they understand their updated compensation,” Glasser added.
It’s a safe bet Amazon’s employee morale issues are just beginning.
