Amazon is making ‘some management changes’ at JFK8

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Several senior managers at the JFK8 facility in Staten Island, New York that recently voted to unionize have been fired by Amazon. According to The New York Times, Amazon told the managers it was going through an organizational change, but some of their co-workers thought it was a punishment for the union's win.

More than half a dozen managers were fired, and many of them were tasked with responding to unionization efforts, according to the Times. It could be that the managers were fired for failing to keep the union from winning, or that they were fired for failing to do so. It's possible that the managers helped the union in some way, and that they're being fired for that.

Amazon's actions in the run-up to the election, when workers voted to unionize, have been criticized by both organizers and regulators. The company has been accused of busting unions, preventing workers from exercising their rights, and firing workers for organizing. The National Labor Relations board and the union suppressed the results of the election, according to Amazon.

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It isn't unusual for Amazon to fire staff. According to a report last year, Amazon's goal is to let go of its lowest-performing employees each year without much warning. The Times notes that some of them had recently received positive feedback about their performance, and that the timing of the firings doesn't line up with Amazon's performance review cycle.

The company didn't immediately respond to The Verge's request for comment on the firings, but it told Engadget that it has spent time evaluating aspects of the operations and leadership at JFK8.