--- title: "Leak: Amazon is Churning Through New Employees at an Alarming Rate" description: "Leaked internal documents obtained by Engadget reveal that Amazon is burning through new employees at an utterly alarming degree." date: "2022-10-18" modified: "2022-10-18" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/amazon-churning-through-new-employees" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "Amazon" - "jeff bezos" - "the digest" --- # Leak: Amazon is Churning Through New Employees at an Alarming Rate ![Leaked internal documents obtained by Engadget reveal that Amazon is burning through new employees at an utterly alarming degree.]() *\Image: Amazon\* ## Amazon Confidential Leaked [internal documents obtained by *Engadget*]() reveal that Amazon is burning through new employees at an alarming rate. One of the many documents — all of which were reportedly labeled "Amazon Confidential" — showed that only one in three new hires stayed at the company for more than 90 days in 2021. Unsurprisingly, that shocking level of turnover is costing the company a lot of money. "\[Worldwide\] Consumer Field Operations is experiencing high levels of attrition (regretted and unregretted) across all levels," read a document analyzing Amazon's 2021 fiscal year, as quoted by *Engadget*, "totaling an estimated $8 billion annually for Amazon and its shareholders." To put that number into perspective, Amazon's [net profit]() for the same fiscal year was about $33.36 billion. ## Regretted Attrition Given that Amazon warehouses are already [notorious]() for being [dangerous]() [hellscapes](), it's not terribly surprising to see so many new hires leaving— and in such a short period of time. But according to the *Engadget*, warehouse employees aren't the only ones doing the quitting. According to one report, both "regretted attrition" and "unregretted attrition" — workers who quit, and those who got laid off or fired, respectively — affected departments "across all levels and businesses" throughout 2021. Yet twice as many employees chose to quit than those who got fired, "\[representing\] a low of 69.5 percent to a high of 81.3 percent across all levels," with the report concluding that these numbers "\[suggest\] a distinct retention issue." ## No Mobility According to *Engadget*, the reports attributed the mass exodus to limited opportunities of upward mobility within the company — corroborating a [2021 report from *The New York Times*](). For their part, Amazon provided *Engadget* with a statement, but declined to confirm or deny any specific numbers in the leaked files. "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," reads the company's statement, adding that it offers "good pay, comprehensive benefits, a safe workplace, and robust training and educational opportunities" to retain its workers. But given the sheer amount of people running for the hills, there's clearly something more to the story. **READ MORE:** *[Exclusive: Amazon's attrition costs $8 billion annually according to leaked documents. And it gets worse.]()* \[*Engadget*\] **More on Amazon:** *[Amazon Secretly Shut down All Its Solar Rooftops after They Started Catching Fire]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()