A detailed post by a former Amazon employee on Reddit went viral for his candid description of the company’s demanding work culture and shifting priorities amid ongoing layoffs. The person, who said she had worked at Amazon for more than eight years, said she was let go in a previous round of restructuring despite consistently performing well.
According to the post, the employee started in a stable role with steady growth, earning top performance reviews and contributing to internal innovation projects. Things changed when they were offered a leadership role in a new, high-stakes business initiative backed by significant investment. What appeared to be a breakthrough opportunity soon turned into an unsustainable workload – stretching to 12-15 hour days, including weekends – as the team raced to deliver what was described as a “revolutionary product”.
However, the project encountered technical and strategic challenges. “Everyone at the ground level saw the ground shaking. The leadership didn’t,” the user wrote, reflecting the growing internal discord. After nearly three years of long hours and limited progress, the initiative was shelved and the employee was among those laid off.
The post suggests that Amazon’s culture continues to reward extreme “start-up” style ownership and execution without offering commensurate growth. “When things went well, it wasn’t a positive. But when things failed, the downside was layoffs,” the user noted, adding, “If you want to take seed-level risk, do it for your own startup — not Amazon.”
The bill resonates with many in the technology industry as major firms, including Amazon, Microsoft and Google, continue to restructure as they increase efficiency and grow in their adoption of AI-led automation. For employees, the story underscores a recurring dilemma in Big Tech—rising expectations and responsibility, but fewer safety nets and declining long-term incentives.
The user commented: “The joke’s on you if you thought anything else would happen. Amazon used and dumped people like they were chips.”
“I can totally relate. We elevate work to the point where we feel needed, valued. We think we are providing for our families, chasing more material things while our dollar goes down, our houses go up in price. And our relationships atrophy, we disconnect from what is truly most important to us,” another user wrote.
“This is true throughout the tech industry. This pre-stock shit is true for everyone,” commented a third user.
