Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos defends company against accusations of "dystopian" work practices

Bezos hits back at New York Times article suggesting employees sacked because severe health or family issues affected their work

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has hit back at a damning report which paints his company as a "dystopian" corporation which punishes employees should their work be affected by health or family issues.

The New York Times (NYT) expose titled Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplac e claims that Amazon employees have been laid off after being diagnosed with cancer, suffering miscarriages or dealing with bereavement in the family.

It's far from the first time Amazon has been accused of shady business practices. The firm has previously been denounced for allegedly treating staff in its warehouses poorly. Amazon has also received criticism for reportedly dodging taxes.

However, Bezos has dismissed the NYT's allegations in a letter to Amazon staff, stating that the article "doesn't describe the Amazon I know or the caring Amazonians I work with every day."

"The article goes further than reporting isolated anecdotes. It claims that our intentional approach is to create a soulless, dystopian workplace where no fun is had and no laughter heard. Again, I don't recognize this Amazon and I very much hope you don't, either," he continued.

Bezos argued that any organisation which used employment practices described in the article wouldn't be able to keep operating as a business.

"More broadly, I don't think any company adopting the approach portrayed could survive, much less thrive, in today's highly competitive tech hiring market," he wrote, adding "I strongly believe that anyone working in a company that really is like the one described in the NYT would be crazy to stay. I know I would leave such a company."

The New York Times interviewed more than 100 current and former Amazon employees about practices at the firm. Some said they thrived at the firm because it pushed them beyond what they thought were their limits, but there were also numerous allegations that the Amazon mistreated staff with serious medical conditions.

The article claims that an employee with breast cancer was put on "performance improvement plan" - which the NTY alleged is code for "you're in danger of being fired" - because the cancer was affecting her work.

Another employee who contracted cancer is alleged to have been given a poor performance rating after returning to work and was told by their superiors that Amazon had become more productive without them.

It's even reported that a woman who suffered a miscarriage was required to leave for a business trip the day after she had surgery.

"I'm sorry, the work is still going to need to get done," her boss reportedly said to her. "From where you are in life, trying to start a family, I don't know if this is the right place for you."

While Bezos has hit out at the article, he told Amazon employees that feel as if they are mistreated to email contact HR - or him personally.

"The article doesn't describe the Amazon I know or the caring Amazonians I work with every day. But if you know of any stories like those reported, I want you to escalate to HR. You can also email me directly.

"Even if it's rare or isolated, our tolerance for any such lack of empathy needs to be zero," he said.