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Amazon Tries to Discredit Ex-Employees Who Said Working at Amazon Sucks

Amazon wonders aloud whether the ex-employee had an "axe to grind."

Amazon and its defenders aren't done trying to save face after The New York Times published a glaring exposé this past summer outlining the company's work policies, which the Times said favor breakneck efficiency at the expense of the workers' lives outside the company. This morning, Jay Carney, senior VP of corporate affairs at Amazon, criticized the Times for running quotes from unreliable sources.

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One of the sources in question is Bo Olson, a former merchandiser, whom Carney says wasn't fired for not working hard enough, but for a reasonably fireable offense.

"His brief tenure at Amazon ended after an investigation revealed he had attempted to defraud vendors and conceal it by falsifying business records. When confronted with the evidence, he admitted it and resigned immediately," Carney wrote.

Carney also called out several named sources. He said the worker who panned Amazon's anonymous "Anytime Feedback" tool, which the Times said allowed workers to chide each other for not working hard enough, only received three reviews, all positive. A worker who was given a humiliating performance review received positive remarks to balance them out, as well as promotion to a senior position.

Of course, this comes in long line of response pieces that already criticized the Times for its unnamed sources and alleged dedication to a story rather than facts.

The Executive Editor of the Times, Dean Bacquet, later said he stood by the original story, noting that it was based on "dozens on interviews" and is an "accurate portrait" of Amazon.

We've reached out to Bo Olson for comment on Carney's post, and we'll update when we've gotten a reply.