Court papers reveal how Amazon measured employee performance in minute detail.
Recruitment problems are at record levels in the UK, with the British Chambers of Commerce reporting that 76 percent of firms reported difficulties, while China is on track to meet its annual target of creating new urban jobs. Microsoft confirms “role eliminations”, joins other tech companies that are shedding jobs.
Jobs slashed as Big Tech bleeds
The economic meltdown has reached Big Tech, and Satya Nadella-run Microsoft has become the first tech giant to lay off employees as part of a “realignment”.
The lay-offs at Microsoft reportedly affect nearly 1 percent of its 180,000-strong workforce across its offices and product divisions.
“Today we had a small number of role eliminations. Like all companies, we evaluate our business priorities on a regular basis, and make structural adjustments accordingly,” Microsoft told Bloomberg in a statement.
Twitter has also cut its recruiting team while Tesla has also laid off employees.
Amazon’s 13,000 ‘disciplines’
Internal Amazon documents have revealed how routinely the company measured workers’ performance in minute detail and admonished those who fell even slightly short of expectations – sometimes before their shift ended.
In a single year ending April 2020, Amazon issued more than 13,000 so-called “disciplines” in one warehouse alone, a lawyer said in court papers. The facility had about 5,300 employees around that time.
The largest online retailer in the US disclosed these records in response to a complaint by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Three out of four UK companies struggling with recruitment
Recruitment problems are at record levels as three out of four companies struggle to hire staff, according to the British Chambers of Commerce.
The BCC said roughly 61 percent of firms were looking for staff in the second quarter, similar to 60 percent in the first quarter. But 76 percent were reporting difficulties.
BCC head of policy Jane Gratton said, “Solutions are urgently needed so that firms can keep their doors open throughout these tough times.”
China creates 6.54 million jobs
China has completed 59 percent of its annual target of new urban jobs, with 6.54 million such jobs created during the January to June period, the ministry of human resources has said.
The nationwide survey-based jobless rate fell to 5.9 percent in May from 6.1 percent in April, still above the government’s 2022 target of below 5.5 percent, reports Reuters.
