'A slap in the face': Leaked documents show Amazon warehouse workers are upset over the company's new raises
Welcome to the weekend (almost). Writing to you from New York, I'm Jordan Parker Erb.
It's a jam-packed edition today: We've got an inside look at leaked messages from Amazon workers who aren't pleased with the company's new raises, and the latest details on the Elon Musk-Twitter showdown.
Plus, a 34-year-old shares how he knew it was the right move to dump his $300,000 salary for his passion project.
Buckle up, readers.
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1. Leaked documents show Amazon warehouse workers are up in arms over the company's new raises. This week, the e-commerce giant raised wages by roughly $0.50-$1.00 an hour. But according to messages obtained by Insider, the wages aren't enough to make workers feel valued — and some employees have described them as "a slap in the face."
- Amazon increased pay across its nearly 900 US facilities. The company spent $1 billion on the raises, which bumped the average starting pay at Amazon warehouses from $18 to $19 an hour, and included a suite of other benefits.
- The raises come in the run-up to Amazon's second Prime Day sales event of the year. Employees said the pay increases aren't enough to combat encroaching inflation or quell discontent over heavy workloads.
- Dozens of comments posted by Orlando warehouse workers on an internal messaging board show that at least some staff there saw the raises as an affront. At that warehouse, starting wages rose from $15.50 to $16.00.
- "I feel disrespected and humiliated," one employee commented.
Here's what else employees are saying.
In other news:
2. The upcoming trial between Musk and Twitter is officially on hold. The judge overseeing the case agreed to halt proceedings until October 28 to give the parties time to agree on a settlement. If they can't come to an agreement, the trial will be scheduled for sometime in November. Get the full rundown here.
3. Meet the most powerful Apple executive you've never heard of. Peter Stern, a "stone-cold brilliant" VP in the Services division that draws one-quarter of the company's revenue, is viewed internally as one of a tiny handful of top execs who could possibly succeed Eddy Cue, the company's longtime Services SVP. Everything we know about the forward-looking Stern.
4. Peloton is slashing 500 more jobs. The company told The Wall Street Journal it'd be cutting 12% of its workforce and shrinking its retail footprint. This marks Peloton's fourth round of layoffs so far this year. Get the details here.
5. The Trade Desk CEO tore into Google for selling "the most deceptively named product in recent adtech." During an investor day conference, CEO Jeff Green called out Google for engaging in what he views as "unfair" and "draconian" practices, specifically calling out Google's Open Bidding tool, which helps publishers sell ads. Read more of Green's comments.
6. Hackers have stolen at least $100 million in tokens from Binance, the world's biggest crypto exchange. Hackers attacked a bridge between blockchains, but the situation is now "contained," the CEO of Binance said. Here's the latest.
7. Civil rights groups criticize Google, Clearview AI. The White House released an "AI Bill of Rights," a set of principles for companies dealing with AI. When writing the bill, it asked companies, researchers, and civil rights groups for feedback — and several said facial recognition company Clearview AI's practices are concerning, and that Google engages in a "vicious cycle of personal data collection."
8. A 34-year-old coder quit his $300,000 job at Stripe to build up his after-work project. Sumit Kumar left the billion-dollar fintech company in May to build his startup Parqet, a financial platform he started as a side project — and says he's convinced it was the right thing to do. He explains why.
Odds and ends:
9. Ford just made its F-150 Lightning Pro $5,000 more expensive. Thanks to supply chain snags, Ford has increased the cost of its new electric truck for the second time in months. Here's how much the F-150 Lightning Pro now costs.
10. Google just announced its Pixel 7 series. One of the best new features in the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro is a free built-in "VPN" that will be made available "later this year." Plus, here are four other reasons Android fans should be excited.
The latest people moves in tech:
- Per Bloomberg, Activision's chief compliance officer is stepping down as the company looks to close its deal with Microsoft.
- KeyAnna Schmiedl has joined Mozilla as its VP of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Sustainability.
Keep updated with the latest tech news throughout your day by checking out The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio news brief from the Insider newsroom. Listen here.
Curated by Jordan Parker Erb in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email jerb@insider.com or tweet @jordanparkererb.) Edited by Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.