Attrition at Amazon is costing the company $8 billion a year, with workers twice as likely to leave by choice than be fired, report says
REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
- Attrition at Amazon costs the company $8 billion a year, according to Engadget.
- Workers were also twice as likely to leave by choice than to be fired or laid off, per the outlet.
- The outlet said it had been sent leaked documents that contained the attrition details.
Amazon is facing an attrition problem that's costing the company billions, according to Engadget.
The outlet said its report was based on leaked documents it had obtained, including internal research papers, slide decks, and spreadsheets.
Engadget reported that one document dated early 2022 calculated that "high levels of attrition (regretted and unregretted) across all levels" in its global consumer field operations were costing the company an estimated $8 billion each year.
Amazon did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside normal working hours.
However, a spokesperson told Engadget: "As a company, we recognize that it's our employees who contribute daily to our success and that's why we're always evaluating how we're doing and ways we can improve. Attrition is something all employers face, but we want to do everything we can to make Amazon an employer of choice."
Engadget reported that the company declined to confirm or deny any of the specific claims or figures reported in the documents.
The news outlet said that another document stated that in 2021, only one-third of new hires stayed at the company for more than 90 days before being laid off, fired, or leaving by choice.
Workers across the company were also twice as likely to leave by choice than to be fired or laid off, Engadget reported.
Amazon employees are divided into 10 tiers of seniority. The company's lowest attrition rate out of the 10 tiers was 69.5%, while the highest reached 81.3%, per Engadget.
One of the papers stated that: "The primary reason exempt leaders are resigning is due to career development and promotions."
Amazon has been facing increased attrition and executive turnover throughout the last year. In June this year, Insider reported that Amazon was testing a new internal survey aimed at learning more about employee sentiment.