Amazon's chief executive Jeff Bezos said in a memo to staff that a New York Times profile critical of his company "doesn't describe the Amazon I know or the caring Amazonians I work with every day."
The Times article cited interviews with current and former Amazon employees who said they were pushed to extremes — working at all hours, being encouraged to send secret feedback to their colleagues' bosses —- in service of becoming a good employee called an "Amabot."
Some workers described crying at their desks and the article also claimed managers showed little sympathy for those faced with illnesses or bereavements.
Bezos said the article "claims that our intentional approach is to create a soulless, dystopian workplace where no fun is had and no laughter heard. Again, I don't recognize this Amazon and I very much hope you don't, either." He called for workers to email him or report such behavior to their human resources team.
