Amazon announced a significant change in increments of many of its senior employees. As per the statement released on Wednesday, 27 March, many senior employees, whose compensation leans more towards stock-related awards rather than cash, may not see a cash pay hike this year.
In an emailed statement, the company stated that in this year’s compensation cycle, the company will be prioritising cash base pay increments for employees whose compensation is weighted more heavily in base pay as opposed to stock, as reported by Fortune.
On the contrary, the company highlighted that some of these senior employees may still experience a significant increase in compensation compared to last year. This decision is attributed to the growth in Amazon’s stock price, which surged by 81 per cent in 2023 and has risen over 18 per cent so far this year.
Despite the impressive stock performance, Amazon initiated job cuts across various divisions at the beginning of the year in an effort to reduce costs. Last year, the company had already trimmed stock awards and eliminated more than 27,000 jobs.
Furthermore, instead of resorting to mass firings that could unsettle shareholders or incur costly severance packages, the company was alleged to have made employees’ lives difficult through tactics such as enforcing return-to-office (RTO) policies or placing them in lower-paying or more junior positions.
This strategy, often referred to as ‘quiet firing’ was called ‘silent sacking,’ which involves the gradual removal of perks and benefits or neglecting certain employees to the extent that they leave.
