Imagine you accepted a promotion at Amazon with a generous pay rise, but then Amazon tells you your compensation will actually be lower than promised. That's exactly what just happened, and Amazon is blaming a software bug for the mistake.
As Business Insider reports, an internal email sent to Amazon's corporate employee managers explains how a software error overstated bonus payments as part of promotion pay offers. The promised amounts were based on an Amazon share price that was older and higher, and therefore not valid.
Rather than honoring the original offer for these employees, Amazon tells managers in the email that they will need to inform promoted employees that their offer now has a lower cash value. The email also admits, "We recognize that this is an uncomfortable conversation to have."
In total, it's thought 40% of employees promoted during the last quarter are affected by this reduction in compensation.
Seeing as the value of Amazon shares has fallen by more than 28% over the past six months, the pay reduction could be quite eye-opening for these employees. Apparently some of them have already taken to Amazon's internal Slack channel to complain, and you really can't blame them for doing so.
Amazon representative Brad Glasser confirmed with Business Insider that the company had "identified and immediately corrected an issue with some newly promoted employees' compensation communications," and that "we are working with employees to ensure they understand their updated compensation."