An Amazon employee of three years who lost his job in a recent round of layoffs has opened up about the impact of being terminated. John Paul Martinez was one of the six laid-off Amazon workers who spoke to Business Insider about the moment he learnt he had lost his job and the aftermath.
Martinez, 35, used to work as a technical support engineer with Amazon. Based in Orlando, US, he had spent three years working for the ecommerce giant.
Martinez said he was caught off-guard when he received a 5 am email saying he had been laid off.
Asked how surprised he was by the layoffs, the former employee told Business Insider: “Extremely surprised, since we were not given any indication of this massive layoff, and we are heading into the holidays.”
“Broke down crying”
The evening after being laid off, Martinez broke down crying. He was worried about how he would manage expenses, including his father’s medical bills.
“I broke down crying, not understanding what had occurred that morning,” the 35-year-old admitted. “I started to think about all the expenses — mortgage, car payment, credit cards, and my father’s medical bills.”
Martinez is now actively looking for a new job. “However, due to the massive layoffs at Amazon and other corporations, I am extremely fearful of the competition,” he said.
“Amazon did a poor job”
When Amazon announced the layoffs in late October, the company promised 90 days of full pay and benefits to affected employees.
Beth Galetti, Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology at Amazon, confirmed in an internal email that workers whose positions are being removed will be compensated for 90 days in full. Additionally, they will be able to use business resources and tools for internal communication during their non-working period.
However, Martinez feels these promises have not been kept.
“I think Amazon has done a poor job of communicating with everyone regarding our benefits, stock options, severance package, and job placement assistance,” he said.