iStock; Robyn Phelps/Insider
- Amazon deleted a Slack channel about the company's performance-improvement plans.
- The channel let workers share information about the company's Focus and Pivot programs.
- A company spokesperson said channels can be deleted by an owner or sometimes at a member's request.
Amazon deleted a Slack channel that some employees had used for swapping information about the company's performance-improvement plans, the company confirmed.
Insider previously reported the channel was called #focus-and-pivot-info. It had about 2,000 members before it was deleted about a month ago, according to an Amazon employee to whom Insider granted anonymity to speak about the situation.
Some workers appear to have migrated to a newer channel, created in late March, called #pivot-focus-pip-reform-advocacy though it has only about 260 members, according to the employee.
A screenshot viewed by Insider of a September 18 post written by the new channel's creator read, "Lmao...wow. I find it interesting to see the old focus/pivot info and support group deleted."
The now-deleted channel wasn't well publicized. But it had been a place where employees could share information about Amazon's PIP process, which current and former employees have told Insider can be grueling. The channel also allowed some workers to find a modicum of community in what for many was a difficult time, according to Insider's previous reporting. The loss of that channel could make it harder for those going through a PIP — and who aren't aware of the new channel — to learn how colleagues in similar situations are getting by, the employee said.
Those workers Amazon managers think are failing to measure up can get placed in what's called Focus, Insider previously reported. It's a step before the formal PIP program, which is called Pivot.
August Aldebot-Green, an Amazon spokesperson, confirmed the company deleted the channel. He said Slack channels can be deleted by the owner or sometimes at a channel member's request; Amazon reviews those requests individually.
"Employees are free to set up Slack channels and do so for different reasons—often to find community or discuss a project, but there are also many channels on which employees support each other's professional development by sharing information, resources, and opinions," Aldebot-Green said in an email to Insider.
Aldebot-Green said Amazon workers don't need permission to set up Slack channels. He added that information that employees share with each other on Slack has varying degrees of accuracy. Amazon encourages employees to rely on company channels to access the most accurate information, Aldebot-Green said.
In the old channel, users could post anonymously. However, in order to reply, they had to reveal their name, the employee said. That changed in the newer channel, where anonymous replies are possible. Yet one post in the new channel viewed by Insider warned users about potential complications in their efforts to remain unidentified: "A reminder that anonymous posts and replies here are not truly anonymous as poster details are logged and can be accessed by HR."'
Many of the posts in the old channel were about the intricacies of the Focus and Pivot process, according to the worker and Insider's prior reporting. Someone might ask, the Amazon worker said, about whether it's possible to go on family leave when a person is part of the Pivot program. Or there were more basic questions like, "Can I appeal this?" the worker said. "Or it's like, 'Hey, I got this weird email from my manager. Does that mean I'm in Focus?'" the worker said.
There was at least one post in the old channel, the worker said, where someone made it through the Pivot process and was able to remain with the company. That person offered to answer questions about surviving a PIP.
Insider previously reported the old channel appeared to have been created by an employee in July 2021. As of mid-April it had nearly 1,900 members, according to two employees who had access to the group at the time. Some workers learned of the channel through word of mouth or simply came across it in their search for information about the Focus and Pivot programs.
At least a few workers in the new channel appear to be missing the old one.
The worker said someone posted in the new channel on September 26 asking for a link to the old one. Then, on October 11, according to a screenshot viewed by Insider, someone else posted asking about the status of the older channel: "Wow, did they delete the other focus/pivot Slack channel that had thousands of people in it? That was such a helpful resource for myself and I imagine others. Surprised and also not 😞"
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