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Amazon and the Labor Shortage

Amazon is constantly hiring. Data has shown that the company has had a turnover rate of about 150 percent a year. For the founder, Jeff Bezos, worker retention was not important, and the company built systems that didn’t require skilled workers or extensive training — it could hire and lose people all of the time. Amazon has been able to replenish its work force, but the pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities of this approach. We explore what the labor shortage has meant for Amazon and the people who work there. Guest: Karen Weise, a technology correspondent, based in Seattle for The New York Times.
Duration
30m
Broadcast on
01 Dec 2021
Audio Format
other

Amazon is constantly hiring. Data has shown that the company has had a turnover rate of about 150 percent a year.

For the founder, Jeff Bezos, worker retention was not important, and the company built systems that didn’t require skilled workers or extensive training — it could hire and lose people all of the time.

Amazon has been able to replenish its work force, but the pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities of this approach.

We explore what the labor shortage has meant for Amazon and the people who work there. 

Guest: Karen Weise, a technology correspondent, based in Seattle for The New York Times.

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Background reading: 

  • Each year, hundreds of thousands of workers churn through Amazon’s vast mechanism that hires, monitors, disciplines and fires. Amid the pandemic, the already strained system lurched.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

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This podcast is supported by TikTok. Sometimes the most interesting discoveries are the ones you weren't looking for. That happens every day on TikTok. A science experiment can spark a whole new interest. A recipe you stumble upon can become a meal you make for the people you love. And a restaurant you've never heard of might become your new favorite spot. That's the thing about TikTok. Follow your curiosity and see where it leads. Your next discovery is waiting on TikTok. From The New York Times, I'm Sabrina Tevernisi. This is The Daily. (upbeat music) Today. Holiday shopping is going on right now, even as we speak. As the holiday season begins... Holiday sales could top $850 billion this year. Amazon, one of the country's largest retailers, is setting new records for sales. But it is also bumping up against a labor shortage. Fewer employees on the floor, most stores already impacting what's in stores and online. That is challenging the very premise of its business model. My colleague, Karen Wise, on what this moment means for Amazon and the people who work there. It's Wednesday, December 1st. So, Karen, you report on Amazon for the Times. And I wanted to ask you something I've been wondering about lately, which is, we know that there's been this big national labor shortage. And we also know that there's this supply chain problem. But what I went on Amazon recently to buy something, in this case, it was a dog frisbee, I'll be honest. I was kind of surprised that that frisbee showed up at my door so fast. My dog, Clementine, did not need it urgently. Yet there it was, the next day, on my doorstep. So, I'm wondering, why does it seem like Amazon is not affected by what feels like this major disruption in our economy? - Yeah, I mean, they were essentially built for this. This is what Amazon does. And they have the technology and the infrastructure and the warehouses and the people in place all around the country to get that dog frisbee to you, faster than you think you even need it.

Transcription truncated.

Amazon is constantly hiring. Data has shown that the company has had a turnover rate of about 150 percent a year. For the founder, Jeff Bezos, worker retention was not important, and the company built systems that didn’t require skilled workers or extensive training — it could hire and lose people all of the time. Amazon has been able to replenish its work force, but the pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities of this approach. We explore what the labor shortage has meant for Amazon and the people who work there. Guest: Karen Weise, a technology correspondent, based in Seattle for The New York Times.