Amazon fears it will run out of workers in the US due to very high churn

Page 5 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

pmv

Lifer
May 30, 2008
14,841
9,760
136
See, this is kind of false info that still exist about Amazon. Amazon has been cash free positive since 2002. They have and continue to make money on retail side. Look at how much money Amazon actually borrowed over the years for their massive expansion and growth. Not much at all compared to their current massive size. Most of this was financed by cash flow from their retail business. Amazon chose to smartly invest in their business and growth instead over showing earnings and paying taxes on that profit. This was calculated move by Jeff Bezos.

But this shows you the power of FUD and how media and others can spin the headlines and have people believe anything they want.

So in the case of Amazon it's really an accounting choice to keep their tax bill down? So they aren't in the same category as the likes of Uber, I guess?


That's a strike against my tentative 'new form of capitalism' hypothesis. But it's annoying in itself for more traditional reasons.
 

Matt390

Member
Jun 7, 2019
144
62
101
Import them from Mexico. Or is the left gonna go back to being anti immigrate like sanders was before he decided to run for President?
 

thilanliyan

Lifer
Jun 21, 2005
12,033
2,246
126
But this shows you the power of FUD and how media and others can spin the headlines and have people believe anything they want.
Wasn't saying that Amazon retail is losing money, I said they "can" lose money on retail side but still be profitable overall.
Will edit to be more clear.
 

NWRMidnight

Diamond Member
Jun 18, 2001
3,471
3,003
136
See, this is kind of false info that still exist about Amazon. Amazon has been cash free positive since 2002. They have and continue to make money on retail side. Look at how much money Amazon actually borrowed over the years for their massive expansion and growth. Not much at all compared to their current massive size. Most of this was financed by cash flow from their retail business. Amazon chose to smartly invest in their business and growth instead over showing earnings and paying taxes on that profit. This was calculated move by Jeff Bezos.

But this shows you the power of FUD and how media and others can spin the headlines and have people believe anything they want.
I don't know how much of their revenue from the retail side was used for investments, but I suspect much of their expansion was bank rolled by investors (which is normal for most big businesses) and not the money they actually generated in sales. Specially since they went public on the stock exchange 2 years after they where in business.
 
Nov 8, 2012
20,842
4,785
146
The whole thread is funny because I guarantee you, Amazon is in no short supply of skill less labor.

They're also 12 steps ahead of whatever you're thinking because they are already constantly planning and developing ways to eliminate more and more positions.

But hey, keep telling yourselves things to make you feel better lol. Of course, reality and your fairy tales obviously differ.
 

ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,688
2,810
126
I don't know how much of their revenue from the retail side was used for investments, but I suspect much of their expansion was bank rolled by investors (which is normal for most big businesses) and not the money they actually generated in sales. Specially since they went public on the stock exchange 2 years after they where in business.
Amazon raised about $2.8 billion through sale of convertible bonds during the early years before 2003. The $1.5 billion or so they raised in 1999 right before the Dotcom bust in 2000 probably saved the company from going bankrupt during the Dotcom bust and its aftermath. Ever since Amazon became profitable in 2003, they have only lost money like twice since. Amazon has self funded most of their expansion using their free cash flow.

You can look at Amazon's history of operating income from 2006-2021 here.

https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/AMZN/amazon/operating-income
 

MrSquished

Lifer
Jan 14, 2013
25,947
24,269
136
The whole thread is funny because I guarantee you, Amazon is in no short supply of skill less labor.

They're also 12 steps ahead of whatever you're thinking because they are already constantly planning and developing ways to eliminate more and more positions.

But hey, keep telling yourselves things to make you feel better lol. Of course, reality and your fairy tales obviously differ.
It's sickening how it makes you so happy the less chance low skill workers working extremely demanding jobs can get better pay and benefits.

You are a great example of the shit stain on our country the current conservative movement is
 

NWRMidnight

Diamond Member
Jun 18, 2001
3,471
3,003
136
The whole thread is funny because I guarantee you, Amazon is in no short supply of skill less labor.

They're also 12 steps ahead of whatever you're thinking because they are already constantly planning and developing ways to eliminate more and more positions.

But hey, keep telling yourselves things to make you feel better lol. Of course, reality and your fairy tales obviously differ.
I'm curious what your define skilled labor is? Because it seems to me that you think nearly every job is skill less labor unless it has a piece of paper that says "look, I'm book smart". The problem is, every job, even the ones you think are skill less, actually require skill at some level. And just like any job, you can learn to master the job, or you can just be a body filling a void. Kind of like you you are just a idiot filling a void here on earth.. You are just to stupid to see it and have shown that hard labor means even less to you than any level of skill. At the end of the day, because of your stupidity and your own ignorance, your opinion on the subject is worth about as much as the dog shit on the bottom of my shoe.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Meghan54 and pmv

NWRMidnight

Diamond Member
Jun 18, 2001
3,471
3,003
136
Amazon raised about $2.8 billion through sale of convertible bonds during the early years before 2003. The $1.5 billion or so they raised in 1999 right before the Dotcom bust in 2000 probably saved the company from going bankrupt during the Dotcom bust and its aftermath. Ever since Amazon became profitable in 2003, they have only lost money like twice since. Amazon has self funded most of their expansion using their free cash flow.

You can look at Amazon's history of operating income from 2006-2021 here.

https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/AMZN/amazon/operating-income

Looking at their income statement, and balance sheets, that doesn't appear accurate, as that "free cash flow" is really investor money ($54 Billion in 2020) that would be paid out as dividends if Amazon paid dividends. But they don't, they take that money (investors money) and use it for expansions and other liabilities. Amazon also took on long term debt year after year, which also indicates they didn't fund their expansions with their "free cash flow." But what do I know, I'm just some stupid guy on a tech forum.
 
Last edited:
Nov 8, 2012
20,842
4,785
146
I'm curious what your define skilled labor is? Because it seems to me that you think nearly every job is skill less labor unless it has a piece of paper that says "look, I'm book smart". The problem is, every job, even the ones you think are skill less, actually require skill at some level. And just like any job, you can learn to master the job, or you can just be a body filling a void. Kind of like you you are just a idiot filling a void here on earth.. You are just to stupid to see it and have shown that hard labor means even less to you than any level of skill. At the end of the day, because of your stupidity and your own ignorance, your opinion on the subject is worth about as much as the dog shit on the bottom of my shoe.

You have a hard time wrapping your head around what skill-less labor is? lol.

It's simple - it's labor that has tasks involved that are entirely based on tasks the overwhelming majority of the public is expected to have as an adult. Simple use of motor skills - e.g. picking an item off a conveyer belt, putting it in a box, and placing tape on it. Simple cognitive functions such as selecting the right item, etc...


You are just to stupid to see

Oh believe me, I'm not... But thanks for colorfully showing your blissful ignorance of your own stupidity ;)

Quoted for hilarious irony.
 

fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
87,524
54,359
136
You have a hard time wrapping your head around what skill-less labor is? lol.

It's simple - it's labor that has tasks involved that are entirely based on tasks the overwhelming majority of the public is expected to have as an adult. Simple use of motor skills - e.g. picking an item off a conveyer belt, putting it in a box, and placing tape on it. Simple cognitive functions such as selecting the right item, etc...




Oh believe me, I'm not... But thanks for colorfully showing your blissful ignorance of your own stupidity ;)

Quoted for hilarious irony.
You literally got busted for the exact same sort of spelling mistake the other day.

Maybe this will finally crack your blissful ignorance of your own stupidity. I mean this genuinely too - you are not an intelligent person.
 

1prophet

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
5,313
534
126
It's sickening how it makes you so happy the less chance low skill workers working extremely demanding jobs can get better pay and benefits.

You are a great example of the shit stain on our country the current conservative movement is
The hecklers in the stands don't cause your team to lose but are a convenient distraction to avoid the real issue which is the abandoning of the working class by the Democrat party along with your elite colleges promoting a class caste system where one's worth is based by an overpriced piece of paper and those working with their hands are to be looked as the dredges of society barely worthy to clean your toilets, blaming republicans and conservatives is folly because they never represented the working class.
One of Draut’s key insights is that the class divide is not just a matter of money but also one of culture. As she remarks, “When once a steelworker and an accountant could live on the same block, drive the same car, vacation at the same place and eat at the same restaurants, over the course of the 1980s, 1990s and the first decade of the 2000s” those from higher classes have little substantive contact with those from the working class except when they ring up their groceries or take care of their elderly relatives.


That has precipitated a public and political blindness to the new working class, even though it constitutes 60 percent of Americans. Rather than a silent majority, it is an invisible majority.


The cultural divide has two daunting consequences. Because those who work in journalism and other news media come from the upper, college-degreed cohort -- as Draut adduces, in 1971 only about half of journalists had B.A.s, whereas 92 percent do now -- they have little direct sense of the working class. Nor is there a strong interest to represent it in the main news organs, like The New York Times or The Washington Post, whose audiences are largely college educated.


In Draut’s analysis, after the 2008 crash, about half of the news focused on the banks, a third on the federal response, a fifth on businesses and only a smattering on working-class people who might have lost jobs or their houses. Rather, the Post ran a feature on a banker getting by on a reduction of her salary -- to $300,000 a year. Hard times indeed.


Similarly, those who work as congressional staffers come almost entirely from college backgrounds. Of high-level staffers, about half “attended private colleges for their undergraduate degree, including 10 percent who went to an Ivy League school.” They are typically the ones who get the internships inside the D.C. beltway, as well as can afford to carry the expenses of internships.


That has effectively shut the working class out of public representation or political power, even though it constitutes a majority. For Draut, the key is to change the narrative, popping what she calls the “class bubble.” One corrective is simply that we are not all middle class: most Americans are working class.


In addition, Sleeping Giant shows that the present working class no longer fits the iconic image of the construction worker in hard hat who had a union to speak for him. Instead, it is largely female, about half Latino and African-American, usually nonunionized, and struggling to make ends meet at or near minimum wage while laboring in home health care, fast food and retail, which have gained the bulk of new jobs
 

NWRMidnight

Diamond Member
Jun 18, 2001
3,471
3,003
136
You have a hard time wrapping your head around what skill-less labor is? lol.

It's simple - it's labor that has tasks involved that are entirely based on tasks the overwhelming majority of the public is expected to have as an adult. Simple use of motor skills - e.g. picking an item off a conveyer belt, putting it in a box, and placing tape on it. Simple cognitive functions such as selecting the right item, etc...




Oh believe me, I'm not... But thanks for colorfully showing your blissful ignorance of your own stupidity ;)

Quoted for hilarious irony.

Thank you for demonstrating your lack of reading and comprehension skills. You completely defined the opposite of what I was curious about, or do you not know what the term "skilled labor" means? As for who is showing their blissful ignorance of their own stupidity. You have the stage all to yourself for that one.

edit: Oh, damn, I just realized I accidently put "is" instead of "as". That must be what confused you!

Now that I pointed out that minor spelling mistake, maybe your feeble mind can comprehend what I asked you, and what I actually said to you.
 
Last edited:
Nov 8, 2012
20,842
4,785
146
Thank you for demonstrating your lack of reading and comprehension skills. You completely defined the opposite of what I was curious about, or do you not know what the term "skilled labor" means? I'm pretty sure you just confirmed that I am not the one who is showing their blissful ignorance of their own stupidity. You have the stage all to yourself for that demonstration.

edit: Oh, damn, I just realized I accidently put is instead of as... that must be what confused you.... sorry!

Now that I pointed out that minor spelling mistake, maybe your feeble mind can comprehend what I asked you.
It's quite simple, it's the opposite of what I just said.

It's functions that the overwhelming majority of the populace do not have.

If something goes wrong with someone's dishwasher, or sprinkler system, or lawnmower, the overwhelming majority of the population wouldn't know how to fix it themselves. That is because it generally required knowledge about a subject, trade skill, etc.

Same with plumbing, carpentry, general handyman tasks, car work, the list goes on and on. The point being, they require knowledge and skills outside of simple motor functions.

Retail and Amazon warehouse worker ant work is skill-less. The majority of the populace can start work on day 1 with little to no training other than learning "this goes here" type of knowledge.
 

NWRMidnight

Diamond Member
Jun 18, 2001
3,471
3,003
136
It's quite simple, it's the opposite of what I just said.

It's functions that the overwhelming majority of the populace do not have.

If something goes wrong with someone's dishwasher, or sprinkler system, or lawnmower, the overwhelming majority of the population wouldn't know how to fix it themselves. That is because it generally required knowledge about a subject, trade skill, etc.

Same with plumbing, carpentry, general handyman tasks, car work, the list goes on and on. The point being, they require knowledge and skills outside of simple motor functions.

Retail and Amazon warehouse worker ant work is skill-less. The majority of the populace can start work on day 1 with little to no training other than learning "this goes here" type of knowledge.

Interesting. I don't consider myself skilled in any of those trades, yet I have knowledge and the aptitude (mechanically inclined) to do all of them and actually have done some of them. Are you sure you know what skilled labor is? Having knowledge , aptitude, and/or being mechanically inclined doesn't define a person as skilled labor. Maybe you should try not using words in your definition that are part of what you are attempting to define, you know, like the word skill/skills. Maybe google can help you. While you are at it, maybe you will come across the fact that the majority of all jobs are considered no-skill, low-skill jobs which has nothing to do with the the "populace" not having such "functions". It's not the "populace's" fault that those are the majority of jobs available. Then, , maybe, just maybe you will fall of your pedestal and stop looking down on people who actually work hard for their money, regardless of their skill level.

Also, requiring no-skill to get a job does not mean the work itself is skill-less. Every job requires some level of skill to become proficient at it.
 
Last edited:
Nov 8, 2012
20,842
4,785
146
Interesting. I don't consider myself skilled in any of those trades, yet I have knowledge and the aptitude (mechanically inclined) to do all of them and actually have done some of them. Are you sure you know what skilled labor is? Having knowledge , aptitude, and/or being mechanically inclined doesn't define a person as skilled labor. Maybe you should try not using words in your definition that are part of what you are attempting to define, you know, like the word skill/skills. Maybe google can help you. While you are at it, maybe you will come across the fact that the majority of all jobs are considered no-skill, low-skill jobs which has nothing to do with the the "populace" not having such "functions". It's not the "populace's" fault that those are the majority of jobs available. Then, , maybe, just maybe you will fall of your pedestal and stop looking down on people who actually work hard for their money, regardless of their skill level.

Also, requiring no-skill to get a job does not mean the work itself is skill-less. Every job requires some level of skill to become proficient at it.

You can call tying your shoe a skill if you want to make yourself feel better in life when you're in last place in everything.

I already explained to you what a skill is. Something that 99.8% of the population can do isn't a skill. If you want to get into technicalities of what your definition of skill is - then I simply don't care and you're missing the overall point like a 2nd-grade child.

Amazon and Retail work doesn't require skills. Skill-less labor is the lowest rung of society. If you have expectations for amazing pay for a skill that just about every human is capable of, then you should seriously seek some mental help because you're bordering on retardation.
 

MrSquished

Lifer
Jan 14, 2013
25,947
24,269
136
You can call tying your shoe a skill if you want to make yourself feel better in life when you're in last place in everything.

I already explained to you what a skill is. Something that 99.8% of the population can do isn't a skill. If you want to get into technicalities of what your definition of skill is - then I simply don't care and you're missing the overall point like a 2nd-grade child.

Amazon and Retail work doesn't require skills. Skill-less labor is the lowest rung of society. If you have expectations for amazing pay for a skill that just about every human is capable of, then you should seriously seek some mental help because you're bordering on retardation.

What you are trying to create some sort of peasant and serf class system reminiscent of the times of monarchies? The lowest rung of society? Your verbiage is very telling - that's straight out of the book - Monarchies: How To Oppress the lowest Rung of society.

Yourr shittiness as a person shines through so easily. Low skill work is still hard and honorable work. Why do you demean honest labor? It's physically demanding in many cases, and does take patience, accuracy, dealing with people in retail, etc...people-skills is a skill too. Without that labor we wouldn't have a lot of the nice things we get to enjoy today.

The fact is, you and your shitty party, the party of the average joe, want a permanent working class either living in poverty, or in a dead end crappy lifestyle. Nobody said low skill work should pay you so you can buy beamers and mansions. But you should have a decent standard of living and healthcare. And it should go up from there for higher paying more skilled jobs.
 

Fenixgoon

Lifer
Jun 30, 2003
32,969
12,319
136
You can call tying your shoe a skill if you want to make yourself feel better in life when you're in last place in everything.

I already explained to you what a skill is. Something that 99.8% of the population can do isn't a skill. If you want to get into technicalities of what your definition of skill is - then I simply don't care and you're missing the overall point like a 2nd-grade child.

Amazon and Retail work doesn't require skills. Skill-less labor is the lowest rung of society. If you have expectations for amazing pay for a skill that just about every human is capable of, then you should seriously seek some mental help because you're bordering on retardation.

it is a skill. After all, children don't innately know how to do it, so we teach them. Just because it isn't monetized, doesn't mean it isn't a skill.

Knowing how to operate machinery is a skill. It may not be a difficult skill to learn, but it is a skill. And there's certainly going to be a difference between someone who is doing it for the first time vs. someone who has been doing it for years.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Brainonska511

NWRMidnight

Diamond Member
Jun 18, 2001
3,471
3,003
136
You can call tying your shoe a skill if you want to make yourself feel better in life when you're in last place in everything.

I already explained to you what a skill is. Something that 99.8% of the population can do isn't a skill. If you want to get into technicalities of what your definition of skill is - then I simply don't care and you're missing the overall point like a 2nd-grade child.

Amazon and Retail work doesn't require skills. Skill-less labor is the lowest rung of society. If you have expectations for amazing pay for a skill that just about every human is capable of, then you should seriously seek some mental help because you're bordering on retardation.

No worries. I will step out of your way and let you continue being the stupid, ignorant fool you so desperately want to be. My bad for trying to teach you something, but it's obvious you are incapable of comprehension of anything with your stupidity in the way.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Leeea

Maxima1

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2013
3,549
761
146
You can call tying your shoe a skill if you want to make yourself feel better in life when you're in last place in everything.

I already explained to you what a skill is. Something that 99.8% of the population can do isn't a skill. If you want to get into technicalities of what your definition of skill is - then I simply don't care and you're missing the overall point like a 2nd-grade child.

Amazon and Retail work doesn't require skills. Skill-less labor is the lowest rung of society. If you have expectations for amazing pay for a skill that just about every human is capable of, then you should seriously seek some mental help because you're bordering on retardation.

In the past, it wasn't the supermarket clerks for some reason. 😂


Deborah Burger, co-president of the California Nurses Association, says that when she started her career as an intensive care unit nurse in the 1970s, a grocery clerk made more money than she did.

Things have changed quite a bit since then, especially in California.

Registered nurses in the Golden State earn $100,000 a year on average, more than their counterparts anywhere else in the country, according to recently-released data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.


 

brandonbull

Diamond Member
May 3, 2005
6,362
1,219
126
Interesting. I don't consider myself skilled in any of those trades, yet I have knowledge and the aptitude (mechanically inclined) to do all of them and actually have done some of them. Are you sure you know what skilled labor is? Having knowledge , aptitude, and/or being mechanically inclined doesn't define a person as skilled labor. Maybe you should try not using words in your definition that are part of what you are attempting to define, you know, like the word skill/skills. Maybe google can help you. While you are at it, maybe you will come across the fact that the majority of all jobs are considered no-skill, low-skill jobs which has nothing to do with the the "populace" not having such "functions". It's not the "populace's" fault that those are the majority of jobs available. Then, , maybe, just maybe you will fall of your pedestal and stop looking down on people who actually work hard for their money, regardless of their skill level.

Also, requiring no-skill to get a job does not mean the work itself is skill-less. Every job requires some level of skill to become proficient at it.
Go and see how successful you would be in one of those trades with only your hobby level of skill and knowledge. The ramp up time and the minimum general aptitude levels are much lower in the typical Amazon warehouse setting than is needed for a trade/skilled labor job. Amazon is about creating successful practices and procedures and then finding people to carry them out. Flesh robots are working warehouse jobs until they become expensive enough to use non flesh robots.
 

NWRMidnight

Diamond Member
Jun 18, 2001
3,471
3,003
136
Go and see how successful you would be in one of those trades with only your hobby level of skill and knowledge. The ramp up time and the minimum general aptitude levels are much lower in the typical Amazon warehouse setting than is needed for a trade/skilled labor job. Amazon is about creating successful practices and procedures and then finding people to carry them out. Flesh robots are working warehouse jobs until they become expensive enough to use non flesh robots.

I see you have the same comprehension skills as someonesmind, or the lack there of. All I did was demonstrated I had exactly what he "defined" as skilled labor. That's why I said up front I don't consider myself skilled in any of those trades, because his definition was seriously lacking. However, as I said, I have done some of those trades, and not just at a "hobby" skill level, or hobby level knowledge.. but I still don't consider myself skilled at any of them. But of course, you missed the same lesson someonesmind did.
 
Last edited:

owensdj

Golden Member
Jul 14, 2000
1,711
6
81
Many companies are experiencing a high turnover rate because they're having trouble finding people who can pass a drug test.
 

ivwshane

Lifer
May 15, 2000
33,308
16,667
136
Many companies are experiencing a high turnover rate because they're having trouble finding people who can pass a drug test.

That sounds unlikely since drug tests are typically given before an employment offer is given.