Performance or Attrition? A Strategic HRM Analysis of Amazon’s Talent Management Challenge

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-916-2_62How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM); Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs); Organisational Justice; Sustainable HRM

Abstract

This paper critically examines Amazon’s performance management practices through the lens of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM). Specifically, it analyses the company’s reliance on Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) and its culture of “unregretted attrition,” which has been widely described as a form of quiet firing. While these practices achieve short-term cost reductions by removing underperformers, they simultaneously generate long-term risks, including talent loss, reduced innovation capacity, reputational harm, and potential legal challenges. Using theories of organisational justice, human capital, and strategic risk management, this study argues that Amazon’s system undermines fairness perceptions and weakens employee trust and engagement. A situational analysis further reveals that external pressures such as stricter labour regulations and shifting employee expectations amplify these risks. To address the contradictions, two strategic recommendations are proposed: redesigning the performance system to separate coaching from discipline, and adopting a Sustainable HRM model that values employee well-being and long-term human and social capital. These reforms would not only enhance fairness and trust but also align HR practices with Amazon’s innovation-driven strategy. The paper concludes that sustainable and developmental approaches to performance management are critical for retaining talent and maintaining competitive advantage in knowledge-based economies.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Yixuan Wang
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/22
TI  - Performance or Attrition? A Strategic HRM Analysis of Amazon’s Talent Management Challenge
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 4th International Conference on Public Service, Economic Management and Sustainable Development (PESD 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 579
EP  - 585
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-916-2_62
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-916-2_62
ID  - Wang2025
ER  -