Amazon Developer-Engineer Insights on Work Culture Post-Layoffs

Looking for perspectives on Amazon’s work culture (for an article) Hey folks, I’m working on a piece about Amazon’s work culture, especially from a developer/engineering perspective, and I’d love to hear from people with first-hand experience. A lot of this traces back to the period of mass layoffs, when leadership started carving out what many described as “fiefdoms.” At the time, a Reddit thread blew up warning people not to hire laid-off Amazon managers because they’d just rebuild their teams elsewhere and recreate the same toxic culture. There was also a LinkedIn post that captured this sentiment really clearly — basically, the idea that Amazon’s culture is so deeply ingrained it follows people out the door. For the article, I’m trying to go beyond surface-level commentary and dig into what this looked like day to day. Examples of what I’m curious about: How did leadership’s behavior (e.g. hostile language in meetings, secrecy around projects, or long-hour expectations) actually play out on the ground? Did you see “fiefdom” dynamics in action, and how did they affect your work? After the layoffs, what was the impact on the teams that stayed behind? Do you agree that ex-Amazon managers often carry the culture with them when they move to new companies? If you’re open to sharing, I’d love to hear your perspective — either in the thread here or by DM. Ideally, I’m hoping to speak with a few people on the record, but anonymous contributions are welcome too. Thanks in advance!