Two emails sent to Amazon HR expressed concern about Hastings' use of Focus. The emails said Hastings put multiple people on Focus who were either top performers or had been recently hired or promoted. Often, these employees weren't immediately informed that they were on the performance-improvement plan, or they were told so only when they tried to move away from Hastings' team to another part of Amazon, according to the emails, copies of which were seen by Insider.
Several employees who were put in Focus were recently removed from the plan with no explanation after the investigation, two people involved in the process said. "She looked down on noneconomists," one employee told Insider."If you're part of the Berkeley clan, you're in," another member of Hastings' team said, referring to recent hires from the University of California, Berkeley, Hastings's alma mater.
To be sure, some employees had positive things to say about Hastings, and at least one staffer said she was just a product of what they called Amazon's flawed performance-management system. Multiple employees complimented her intelligence and abilities as a data scientist.
What do you want? More money or better working conditions and benefits? Because they are all part of your pay. I'd rather have a bonus, stocks, a day off, or a raise rather than being forced on some stupid company social trip.