Amazon set to lay off thousands in Washington state

[kballowe]

Well it's January. The holiday rush is over and so maybe that has a tiny bit to do with layoffs.

 

[Pew]

Amazon is always laying off and hiring. From my memory they mandate like 5% layoff (or unregretted attrition, aka they don't mind you leaving or they firing you) a year typically on all level. Since it is harder than usual to find jobs now they just decide to make it a layoff instead of let you leave on your own.

I know BCBS and United Healthcare does it. My sister's BF does those numbers for UH. Every 3 years they get rid of their contractors/temp and get new ones and every year they get rid of the bottom 5%-ish.

 

[Pablo]

We now have around three or four generations who don't really know what hard times are. Hunger means not being able to scan the card and have a burger in 2 minutes.

It wasn't THAT long ago when it was hard to find a decent job.

 

[opus1]

And that's in addition to them axing Amazon Fresh.

Amazon Fresh closing

 

[Pablo]

And that's in addition to them axing Amazon Fresh.

Amazon Fresh closing

Mentioned above. This started as just a trial thing anyway. Not really surprising not enough ideal locations. Even Hawaii has so many local stores already, the space is crowded even in very dense areas, which was to be the model for success.

 

[opus1]

Ah, yes, I missed that.

They opened one near my house but I never had the inclination to go in.

 

[Arc]

In all fairness, there has never been a better time to be "poor". Flat screen tvs, internet, cell phone, modern reliable car, plenty to eat but "poor"

The poor people I see have none of that. I see people living in run down trailer parks with nothing to even drive. The nearest job opening for them is at least 35 miles and minimum wage wouldn't even pay for their fuel let alone anything else. Our county was once a thriving place to live then manufacturing all left.

 

[Arc]

Amazon has been sending packages through USPS in my area. It's rare to ever see UPS or FedEx anymore. Walmart always sends these unmarked old vans and trucks for deliveries. It's hard to get a package at the post office when their hours are 8:30 to 4:30 and by 4:30 I mean they close everything at 4:00 so they can all walk out at 4:30.

 

[Arc]

More like the work wouldn't get done. Prices would skyrocket due to scarcity.
And from a technology standpoint, America would fall behind. And be lost.

Companies always say it's because there isn't enough qualified workers but in reality it's about $$. Any company with shareholders is going to eventually cut everything to the bare bones.

 

[dlundblad]

Not a single penny higher is my prediction. Those jobs just wouldn’t be getting done. The SNAP crowd sure ain’t gonna do them, at least not the ones in my extended family.

There’s skilled jobs to be had for people with work vistas. Not all pick vegetables and clean hotels like we are lead to believe.

 

[Elkins45]

There’s skilled jobs to be had for people with work vistas. Not all pick vegetables and clean hotels like we are lead to believe.

Yeah, I was thinking primarily about manual labor work, not skilled stuff like engineers. I’m probably ignorant of a lot of factors with this topic.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Speculation.

Actually, no. My career was in Silicon Valley where companies are crying for talent. That's why I am so big on public higher education.
Beyond that, who would pick your fruit?

Immigrants work throughout our economy, mainly in labor intensive sectors like agriculture, construction, food workers, manufacturing, cleaning and maintenance, etc. Often in physically demanding or essential roles like farmworkers, construction laborers, housekeepers, cooks, and drivers.

 

[SC Maintenance]

More like the work wouldn't get done. Prices would skyrocket due to scarcity.
And from a technology standpoint, America would fall behind. And be lost.

Yes, the lie we have been told for 40 years.

Seems we were good enough to make bombers and tanks in 1944, but not good enough to make iphones.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Companies always say it's because there isn't enough qualified workers but in reality it's about $$. Any company with shareholders is going to eventually cut everything to the bare bones.

You are mixing 2 different things.
1 - There is not enough qualified talent; that is not just a saying.
2 - A public for-profit company responsibility is to minimize costs. Yes, they are beholden to their shareholders, by definition.

Are you for or against Capitalism?

 

[JeffKeryk]

They're significantly easier to take advantage of. Over 70% of H1Bs are from India and go into STEM, mainly IT-related fields like sysadmins or network admins and are mostly "yes men". You can have 3 H1B workers for the price of one US citizen and work them to death because they can't complain or they lose their job and visa if they can't find work for 30 days. Then there's the cultural clash sometimes. But I'm not blaming the H1Bs at all, we hire quite a few of them in my AEC company and 75% of them are great to work and talk with. The latest one we got is a 40s Iraqi that came over a few years ago. I want to ask him his perception of us in Iraq, if it isn't too personal for him.

To be honest, if I could start over I'd gone on to become a mustang in the military (right now I would have 3 years left until the 20-year retirement) or go into the medical field instead of IT.

The less advantaged immigrants are often willing to work hard to build a better life. That's how America was built.

 

[IndyIan]

In all fairness, there has never been a better time to be "poor". Flat screen tvs, internet, cell phone, modern reliable car, plenty to eat but "poor"

I don't think you really realize what is "poor". Everything but the car is pretty cheap, and only the cell phone with a $30-40/month plan is necessary for modern life.
People working a couple jobs 60+hrs a week to spend half their gross income on a bad apartment, and buy overpriced junk food at the local supermarket, and don't have a reliable car or time, to go to the cheaper grocery store in town, aren't really having a "good time".

1/3 of the US households have less than $50k per income... So after taxes, rent, utility bills, health insurance? They get down to $3-400 per week for food, transportation, clothes... They aren't ordering $150/month tv/internet packages to watch the disney channel on their 87" TV, or getting 4-5% cash back credit cards.

We make a decent amount of money, but even I have a hard time forking over what a semi-reliable car costs these days, and that's with having the space and tools to do most of the maintenance and simple fixes.... And we have no mortgage or car payments.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Yes, the lie we have been told for 40 years.

Seems we were good enough to make bombers and tanks in 1944, but not good enough to make iphones.

Are you for or against Capitalism?

 

[slo town]

You are mixing 2 different things.
1 - There is not enough qualified talent; that is not just a saying.
2 - A public for-profit company responsibility is to minimize costs. Yes, they are beholden to their shareholders, by definition.

Are you for or against Capitalism?

I spent my entire career working in Silicon Valley as a systems engineer, retiring from a 25 year career with the same company in 2005.

At the time I retired I had two friends who remained in the business, both being the type to pursue startups in their "get rich quick" quest. Playing this game had its risks because most startups don't survive. As a consequence both of my friends frequently found themselves out of work and seeking new employment. Both were highly experienced and their skill set was ideally matched to the newest technologies.

What they found in the post 2010 era was that being "American" was a serious liability. More and more startups were run by "foreigners". I'm using the words "American" and "foreigner" to keep it clean. What they found was that unless you were one of "them", an American had virtually no chance of getting employment with their company.

With respect to #1 above; it's not the there's a true lack of qualified talent, it's also a matter of not wanting to hire American talent. Both my Silicon Valley friends were adamant in their belief that often times the only reason they were interviewed was to check some box on the equal opportunity employment checklist. These startups wanted either H1B holders or "one of their own".

With respect to #2 above; capitalism's quest to maximize shareholder returns is a slippery and unsustainable slope. Would today's shareholder support something like Lockheed's Skunk Works program, a program that for years cost Lockheed far more than earned? Today's shareholder wants instant gratification - at the expense of longterm benefit.

Am I a capitalist? Absolutely, but today's super capitalism eats its own for the benefit of Wall Street.

Scott

 

[JeffKeryk]

I spent my entire career working in Silicon Valley as a systems engineer, retiring from a 25 year career with the same company in 2005.

At the time I retired I had two friends who remained in the business, both being the type to pursue startups in their "get rich quick" quest. Playing this game had its risks because most startups don't survive. As a consequence both of my friends frequently found themselves out of work and seeking new employment. Both were highly experienced and their skill set was ideally matched to the newest technologies.

What they found in the post 2010 era was that being "American" was a serious liability. More and more startups were run by "foreigners". I'm using the words "American" and "foreigner" to keep it clean. What they found was that unless you were one of "them", an American had virtually no chance of getting employment with their company.

With respect to #1 above; it's not the there's a true lack of qualified talent, it's also a matter of not wanting to hire American talent. Both my Silicon Valley friends were adamant in their belief that often times the only reason they were interviewed was to check some box on the equal opportunity employment checklist. These startups wanted either H1B holders or "one of their own".

With respect to #2 above; capitalism's quest to maximize shareholder returns is a slippery and unsustainable slope. Would today's shareholder support something like Lockheed's Skunk Works program, a program that for years cost Lockheed far more than earned? Today's shareholder wants instant gratification - at the expense of longterm benefit.

Am I a capitalist? Absolutely, but today's super capitalism eats its own for the benefit of Wall Street.

Scott

I was "lured" to a startup in the 90's with a bunch of founder stock and a nice salary. They were belly up less than a year later. I took a risk that failed miserably. That's on me. Luckily I had several companies encouraging me to apply, including Lam Research, the company I left.

No one ever took my job. I made it a point to be the most valuable employee I could be. Beyond that, I was often disgusted by the employees who felt entitled to their employment. As my friend from Vietnam used to say, "Stop crying."

Regarding Capitalism, no one ever said it was nice. One of its fundamentals is competition, another is risk. There will be blood.
having said that, no other economic system has raised more people out of poverty and raised the standard of living; it's not even close.

Your friends took a risk. I've known plenty who did the same, including me. There are no guarantees.

 

[Trav]

The less advantaged immigrants are often willing to work hard to build a better life. That's how America was built.

Legal immigration is how America was built. I am an immigrant, it was no easy task.