Amazon has confirmed that the email to managers contained an error. Amazon employees were the first to receive emails about promotions and increases, and then received emails informing them that the increases were not what they expected.
A one-time bonus included in their remuneration package had been miscalculated due to a software error and would be less than what they had been told. Bonuses were originally calculated on the basis of older, higher share prices, and the error affected about 40% of the promoted employees in this quarter.
“We discovered and corrected an error in some newly promoted employees’ compensation communications, and we are working with employees to ensure they understand their updated compensation.” an Amazon representative said.
At the start of the year, Amazon’s share price was over $170, and like most major technology companies, it has plummeted over the past nine months to trade at $113.
One Amazon employee mentioned this in an internal Slack group last week, noting that “the stock continues to tank every day” and Amazon was “taking away something that somewhat made us whole.”
However, Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy said the company could not afford the increase and needed to run a sustainable business.
The sources for this piece include an article in TECHSPOT.