GothicToast t1_j9hybf4 wrote on February 22, 2023 at 2:30 AM

Reply to comment by arathald in Amazon Corporate Workers Face Pay Reduction After Shares Slip by brooklynlad

> *Base pay caps did apply to current employees, and base pay is now increasing above old caps, but there were no significant overall pay scale increases for current employees, only the usual incremental ones

This is pretty interesting to me. So you're saying when they lifted the cap, existing employees' comp was not changed, but I'm guessing new hires are being brought in within the new range (meaning way larger base salaries than their incumbent peers)? Are they given smaller new hire stock packages to balance out total comp? I can't imagine trying to measure internal pay equity between two people in the same role/grade/location and are on two entirely different comp strategies. And then keeping those two distinct strategies up-to-date against current market data. Sounds like a nightmare.

They should have moved everyone over at the same time and incurred a one-time expense, while simultaneously dropping their stock refresh budgets.

arathald t1_j9ld58b wrote on February 22, 2023 at 8:33 PM

There’s some details I’m not privy to or shouldn’t share, but I can freely talk about my own pay as well as what people have told me about their pay.

When they announced the changes, my next pay statement looked like a typical year except that there was now room for the small bump to my base pay (a couple of %) brought it above the old cap. I don’t yet know the details of my comp for the next year (comp year is April-April) but I do know it’s also incremental. Obviously due to them previously publicly announcing pay scale changes, HR and management had to have conversations with current employees clarifying that our pay wouldn’t be changed more than the typical incremental bumps. We were led to believe that our pay would be increasing more significantly this year, which isn’t happening.

I also know, secondhand, that many new hires at my same level with far less experience are getting offers that are easily 1.5x or more what I’m making.

I don’t know if they have two scales like you suggested or if they just broadened the band significantly, or if they were regularly getting exceptions for new hire comp above the band for the position.