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Comment by vanusa | Hacker News Reader

Whoever told you there's no bonuses at Amazon is not a top employee.

So that's how Amazon works - people can't even get a straight answer from management as to the existence of a bonus structure (let alone how it works)? They need to whisper it to each other offer coffee, or... go on Hacker News to find out what the actual deal is?

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Sometimes not even management has the whole picture knows. I know someone who was a former employee (top performer) at FB. He would have his end of year (or half year? Not sure what the cycles were) with his boss, receive his bonus and salary increase. Then his boss's boss would pull him aside and give him another bonus, that his own boss was completely unaware of.

Imagine working at a place this toxic. Holy shit.

> I know someone who was a former employee (top performer) at FB

Yup, checks out

I mean just think about it. You write some critical piece of Amazon S3, generates massive value for the company. Amazon knows they cant lose you, how are they not paying you a ton of money? Individual employees can get into situations where they have massive bargaining power over large corporations. Your average or even regular top performer is not getting this, but people definitely are.

The bonus structure works like this.

1.) You provide massive value, maybe move the needle on the bottom line

2.) Someone way high up who probably doesnt even know you wants to know whos responsible.

3.) He tells HR, give that guy an extra million and let me meet him

I've seen bonuses like this at Amazon. You forgot the detail where some clown who has been taking credit with no technical understanding of the project gets the bonus while the people who delivered the actual value are ignored.

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