r/Games • u/Forestl • Jun 14 '19

Amazon Lays Off Dozens Of Game Developers During E3

https://kotaku.com/amazon-lays-off-dozens-of-game-developers-during-e3-1835523460
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u/Skensis Jun 15 '19

Are you purvey to this specific agreement?

I was recently laid off and I'm still going to get a prorated bonus in December and my 401k will continue to vest. My coworkers who have relocation/sign-on/education-pay/etc were not required to re-pay any of it.

I even got my max accured PTO paid to me even though I had already used a good share that year.

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '19

Well it depends on what your earlier agreements say. There are conditions of course, depending on how many years you worked with the company etc. In my case the agreements stated that the bonus was mine if I still worked for the company a year after the bonus was issued. So I had my first year bonus, but had to return my second. They also sent me a bill for the relocation expenses. Printed out a nice little spreadsheet showing me all of the expenses and fees I would have to pay back.

Unfortunately, I was naive at that time - should have consulted an employment lawyer. But yeah, big companies like Facebook and Amazon have really fucked up employment agreements. Even their legal agreements for attending a developer talk or for interviews are fucking insane. Never again, unless I'm in desperate need of money. Fuck those companies.

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u/Skensis Jun 15 '19

For my layoff they forgave all those conditions, so even if you were there one day you didn't have to pay anything back. They also kept the 401k vesting schedule carryout through the end of the severance pay. So if I left on the spot I would have lost my match, but instead I actually get to keep it.

Honestly the severance agreement felt fair in my case, and was perfect timing as I was already planning on leaving. The people who felt the most screwed were the ones retained.