Amazon Steps Up the War of the Warehouses

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
Joined
May 9, 2000
Messages
75,400
It’s difficult to believe that Amazon, the mega corporation, actually lost money last year? That’s a fact according to Amazon and it’s due to the competitive war of warehousing between Amazon and the other giants of the industry, namely eBay and WalMart, among others. Amazon is determined to stay on top of the game (or war) at almost any cost.

But Jeff Bezos, chief executive, appears to be focused on beating out the competition. eBay has also rolled out same-day delivery in a number of cities, and Wal-Mart, which has 4,700 stores in the U.S., can tap its stores for online deliveries.
 
Yeah it "lost money" like every other corporation loses money....

Amazon.com has spent $13.9 billion on 50 new facilities

It lost it because it spent it making the company bigger. And thanks to corporate tax laws that gets listed as a loss, and they pay no taxes or they apply their loss to next years profits.
 
Does amazon actually pay it's workers a living wage?

if they do they need to start pushing that issue and the US consumers will choose them over Walmart
 
Does amazon actually pay it's workers a living wage?

if they do they need to start pushing that issue and the US consumers will choose them over Walmart
Walmart grossly overpays their employees, but the Amazon business model is far more automated which requires far less overhead to begin with.

They don't have to worry about the parking lots, the security guards, stocking the displays, the cashiers, etc as all they have is a big warehouse distribution center an an online purchasing system that takes few employees to manage.

It doesn't take rocket scientists to look at a screen for automated orders, grab it in the warehouse, put it in a box, and slap a prepaid mailing sticker on it so those employees shouldn't be paid much and in theory they should have no "waste time" where they are doing nothing, aside from their designated breaks.
 
I am going to assume you mean walmart grossly underpays their employees and has shifted to a part time business model to further increase profits while taking a shit on their employees.

Goos luck finding someone working in a walmart store that gives a flying fuck about you or their job, pay them a couple of bucks more and holy shit if the emplyees and the consumers will have a better experience, and places like the home depot prove that business model works.
 
Not difficult to believe they operated with a loss last year. Their margins are razor-thin, plus they expanded their distribution centers. Operating at a loss doesn't necessarily mean anything at all.
 
I never shop at walmart, their brands and products are so cheap that even at the price of the component can be had for the same price else where, you just won't find a store with so many cheap products in one place.

The only thing I bought there was a TV stand/cabinet and that was only because the backing on it was big enough that I could drill a hole in the back for ventilation and place some support elbows inside with no one seeing. The thing cost me $75 and I only spend an additional $10 in parts making it a pretty damn decent thing.

Apart from that, I find it hard to find anything there truly worth while to make me want to go there over someplace else.
 
:confused:
I hope you meant underpay, otherwise you are really disconnected with reality....
No, I mean overpay. They pay their shelf stockers and cashiers at least far more than local grocery stores, and these are jobs that any highschool kid can perform and not career positions. I'm not sure if people are expecting these to be $35K jobs or what... *scratching head* The Walmart management and corporate positions I've seen in job searches also pay above market value compared to smaller retail chains.
 
I am going to assume you mean walmart grossly underpays their employees and has shifted to a part time business model to further increase profits while taking a shit on their employees.

I may be wrong, as I'm too lazy to look it up, but I thought most Amazon positions were part time as well?
 
No, I mean overpay. They pay their shelf stockers and cashiers at least far more than local grocery stores, and these are jobs that any highschool kid can perform and not career positions. I'm not sure if people are expecting these to be $35K jobs or what... *scratching head* The Walmart management and corporate positions I've seen in job searches also pay above market value compared to smaller retail chains.

Here in Quebec(Canada) the minimum wage is 10$/hour. So a Walmart employe will probably get 10.15$ on a crappy 15-25hour a week schedule(and have to be available at all time to be chosen, so its close to impossible to have 2 jobs without schedule conflict). That's not what I call being overpaid.

You are right, those are not career positions, but a lot of people don't have a good education and needs those kind of jobs to survive. The 55 years old woman at McDonald isn't there because she likes it, she needs it badly...
 
It is not the Amazons or Walmart's responsibility to provide high paying jobs to the uneducated. People these days feel entitled to their job and feel they deserve a lot. A business is not there to provide jobs, its there to make money.
 
Here in Quebec(Canada) the minimum wage is 10$/hour. So a Walmart employe will probably get 10.15$ on a crappy 15-25hour a week schedule(and have to be available at all time to be chosen, so its close to impossible to have 2 jobs without schedule conflict). That's not what I call being overpaid.

You are right, those are not career positions, but a lot of people don't have a good education and needs those kind of jobs to survive. The 55 years old woman at McDonald isn't there because she likes it, she needs it badly...

Although unskilled jobs are needed and prevalent, the supply of workers for them is also great (unfortunately) which helps keep wages low ... if the supply were to diminish then wages would grow or the jobs would be automated ... keeping unskilled jobs at a low wage is actually a good thing as it provides incentives for workers to obtain training and skills that demand higher pay and benefits (in other professions) ;)
 
Yeah it "lost money" like every other corporation loses money....



It lost it because it spent it making the company bigger. And thanks to corporate tax laws that gets listed as a loss, and they pay no taxes or they apply their loss to next years profits.
Sendinf out dividend checks would have been better?
 
Although unskilled jobs are needed and prevalent, the supply of workers for them is also great (unfortunately) which helps keep wages low ... if the supply were to diminish then wages would grow or the jobs would be automated ... keeping unskilled jobs at a low wage is actually a good thing as it provides incentives for workers to obtain training and skills that demand higher pay and benefits (in other professions) ;)

Wouldn't the supply diminishing in a specific job lead to a decrease in wage (not an increase)? At least, that's how it works in any other industry.
 
Wouldn't the supply diminishing in a specific job lead to a decrease in wage (not an increase)? At least, that's how it works in any other industry.

(unless you meant that the worker supply begins to drop--not the job supply. Not sure which one you meant)
 
Yeah it "lost money" like every other corporation loses money....



It lost it because it spent it making the company bigger. And thanks to corporate tax laws that gets listed as a loss, and they pay no taxes or they apply their loss to next years profits.

This is the exact same non-sense they used to say about the dot-com bubble companies. They are "investing in themselves" or they are "buying marketshare." There was always an excuse as to why they weren't actually making money.
 
(unless you meant that the worker supply begins to drop--not the job supply. Not sure which one you meant)

I meant the supply of workers ;) ... right now the worker supply in many professions exceeds the supply of jobs which makes it a buyer's market (keeping down wages) ... if the supply of jobs grows to exceed the supply of workers or the worker pool diminishes so that the job demand cannot be met, then it will be become a seller's market (and wages will rise) ... unskilled markets almost never become a seller's market though (especially where there is a ready supply of immigrant workers) :cool:
 
This is the exact same non-sense they used to say about the dot-com bubble companies. They are "investing in themselves" or they are "buying marketshare." There was always an excuse as to why they weren't actually making money.

I don't think the expansion of a company like Amazon is comparable to the dot-com bubble ... many of those companies had no viable product or provided very niche services ... the retail business operates best with the large economies of scale (this is why Walmart survives with such low margins ... they have more purchasing power than some countries) ... for Amazon to thrive in such a low margin market they must also be very large and very diverse (both of which require ongoing investment for the time being) ;)
 
Ever since a Costco opened in town I haven't stepped foot in Wal mart... you can tell the employees are well paid, they're smiling, efficient, they know their store well and they'll help you without looking completely annoyed that you disturbed them in doing nothing.
 
:confused:
I hope you meant underpay, otherwise you are really disconnected with reality....

Huh? Have you been to walmart? I'd rather just dig through a pile of shit and pick out what I want then have to deal with the dropouts at walmart.

Seriously, customer service at walmart SUUUUUUUUCKS.
 
Wal Mart very often treats the employees like shit and then those employees go out and do a piss poor job in return. Wal Mart feels OK treating people like shit because they do a bad job. It is a self fulfilling prophecy of crappy treatment getting crappy results.

Around here, it is night and day going between a Wal Mart and a Target. All of the Targets have generally competent people that seem to work together. Wal Marts are stuffed with people that look like they can't be bothered to take a shower or get a hair cut. I've only purchased two things at Wal Mart in the last three years so my plan to blacklist them is working out pretty well...

Amazon just avoids whole thing. I don't care if a hipster yeti or a robot puts my purchase into the cardboard box, I just want it to show up on time and non-broken.
 
Wal Mart very often treats the employees like shit and then those employees go out and do a piss poor job in return. Wal Mart feels OK treating people like shit because they do a bad job. It is a self fulfilling prophecy of crappy treatment getting crappy results.

I dunno about that. The Sam's Club my wife and I go to, as everyone knows is part of the Walmart dynasty, is heads and shoulders above a regular Walmart in terms of cleanliness and employee friendliness yet it's all the same company.


Maybe customers with Sam's Club money has a lower tolerance for the bullshit that comes out of Wal-Mart employees. I know I do.
 
Does amazon actually pay it's workers a living wage?

if they do they need to start pushing that issue and the US consumers will choose them over Walmart

Amazon typically pays warehouse employees 20-30% more than Walmarts equivalent.
 
I dunno about that. The Sam's Club my wife and I go to, as everyone knows is part of the Walmart dynasty, is heads and shoulders above a regular Walmart in terms of cleanliness and employee friendliness yet it's all the same company.


Maybe customers with Sam's Club money has a lower tolerance for the bullshit that comes out of Wal-Mart employees. I know I do.
That's because they are competing with COSTCO
 
So, this explains the instability in the Prime program, including the shipping rates for Saturday and next-day. Among other things.

And the "Add On" program.
 
Although unskilled jobs are needed and prevalent, the supply of workers for them is also great (unfortunately) which helps keep wages low ... if the supply were to diminish then wages would grow or the jobs would be automated ... keeping unskilled jobs at a low wage is actually a good thing as it provides incentives for workers to obtain training and skills that demand higher pay and benefits (in other professions) ;)

I'm not saying they should be paid more, I said this to answer "they are overpaid". If someone believe those workers are overpaid, that person needs a reality check badly.

But to answer your comment, it may create an incentive to students to stay in school longer while they work those jobs and live with their parents. But most unskilled workers cannot afford to skip work and get better training because they have to pay for everything.
 
Huh? Have you been to walmart? I'd rather just dig through a pile of shit and pick out what I want then have to deal with the dropouts at walmart.

Seriously, customer service at walmart SUUUUUUUUCKS.

I don't know how it is in the USA, here they are good enough (although sometimes hard to find if you have a question).

About Cosco, they are a lot more picky with the staff they choose, pay more, but no customer service at all (there's no one on the floor except cashiers and packers).

While at school I've work at both Walmart and Cosco.

Walmart employe MIGHT make 2$ more than the minimum wage after a few years.
Cosco employe will make easily 40-50K$ after a few years.
 
I dunno about that. The Sam's Club my wife and I go to, as everyone knows is part of the Walmart dynasty, is heads and shoulders above a regular Walmart in terms of cleanliness and employee friendliness yet it's all the same company.


Maybe customers with Sam's Club money has a lower tolerance for the bullshit that comes out of Wal-Mart employees. I know I do.

Sam's Club workers in Maine are nothing like employees at Wal Mart. Doesn't feel like they are owned by the same company at all.
 
not that home depot is perfect, but they are way fucking better than walmart.

Home Depot also stocks very different product and has a very different relationship with their customers. Do you really need a qualified employee at Wal-Mart to tell you what size socks or how much toilet paper you need? BTW do you guys know the story of builders square? Basically builders square was a company just like home depot from the south, and Kmart bought them, they could have been the big company because in many areas they beat Lowes and home depot into the market. The problem was Kmart thought they could hire the same employees as their other stores, the end result was they crashed and burned. But Wal-Mart isn't like that, Wal-Mart has thrived off of the most useless cheap labor. And I don't expect that to change.

Also Home Depot does the same shit as Wal-Mart does in many respects, I would know I used to work their in college. 1 they hire as many part timers as they legally can in the winter you could literally end up with only 10 hours per week, 2 they outsource cleaning and other jobs if they can, in some places the same company will clean the Wal-Mart at night and the Home Depot the next night. When I was there the number 1 complaint amongst employees was there were NEVER enough people on the floor to service all the customers. And the this last week when I bought some lights it seemed the same.

Also for those that claim Amazon employees don't do anything I would say Wal-Mart isn't that different. Amazon employees take stuff off pallets and put it in the right spot in warehouses, at Wal-Mart they do the same but put it on shelves. Except in Wal-Mart, no one is going to package up your toilet paper and put it in a box for you, you are going to do that yourself. Now days you even check out by yourself and pack your own bags half the time.
 
Home Depot employees are "qualified" in some sense? Don't get me wrong every now and then you'll find someone who knows what he's talking about, but the vast amount of time I've talked to people I get the distinct feeling that they were "trained" by HD in the knowledge thy have, i.e. they don't have years/decades of experience.
 
Home Depot employees are "qualified" in some sense? Don't get me wrong every now and then you'll find someone who knows what he's talking about, but the vast amount of time I've talked to people I get the distinct feeling that they were "trained" by HD in the knowledge thy have, i.e. they don't have years/decades of experience.

The older staff (yes purposely staffed because of their age/experience) know their game, the younger staff are trained in specific knowledge, if they can't answer they are suppose to get some of the older staff to come help.

I haven't had a bad experience in HD though, nothing compared to Wal Mart. HD and Lowes both have great staff, typically.
 
They are more qualified than Walmart employees. If you want someone good like oh say a real electrician forget it, he can make 2x as much money by himself. But HD employees can at least get a totally lay person going on most projects. On the other hand someone at Walmart typically just stares at you blankly or makes up a complete lie if you ask them about a product or how to do anything.

So yes, home depot tries to select employees who have done work in the department they work in. Same with lowes, many of the people who work at either were sniped out of the local 84 or ace hardware home depot killed when it moved in. In some places the local hardware store which had all the employees people said were knowledgeable would just waive a white flag right away and time their close down with the opening of home depot. Home depot would literally pick half their staff out of that store, managers and everything, then people would come and say OH but the people are less knowledgeable in the big chains, lol its the same guys.

Which brings up another point, its amazing how many Americans think that they should have someone with decades of experience in problem solving on any given issue at their disposal for $8 / hour. lol good luck with that guys. If people get good they move on to better pay, but places like home depot strike a decent balance for the non risk taking types or retired tradesmen sometimes.
 
Back
Top