Beautiful Virgin Islands

Sunday, Mar 01, 2026

Leaked documents reveal Amazon managers’ process to review employees' worth to the company and pay

Leaked documents reveal Amazon managers’ process to review employees' worth to the company and pay

A leaked trove of documents highlighting what metrics managers at Amazon prioritize to evaluate performance and changes in compensation might shed light on the company’s controversial performance review process.

Internal manuals show that Amazon managers are instructed to gauge employees based on two key factors, Insider reported this week after viewing the documents.

Amazon bosses combine two main metrics in determining an employee’s final review, or their “overall value” to the company: their performance score and the potential they have exhibited.

The process is known as Forte, and is highly relevant to Amazon employees, as their “overall value” is what ultimately determines any change in compensation they receive after the review.

Amazon did not reply to Fortune’s request for comment on the review process.

Determining an Amazon employee’s ‘overall value’


First, Amazon managers are instructed to determine how employees have held up the company’s principles, and how this reflects their particular strengths. This is done in a number of ways, including their accomplishments, feedback from colleagues, and, for the first time, self-evaluations.

Self-evaluations, and an assessment of an employee’s own accomplishments relative to their objectives, were introduced earlier this year after employees complained about managers having too much influence in the review process.

These qualities are then used to measure against an employee’s accomplishments, and how they achieved them. This rating is used to decide the employee’s performance score, which combines evaluations of what their accomplishments have been and the manner in which they reached them.

This performance result is ranked on a scale from one to seven, then combined with an evaluation of an employee’s potential—ranked on a scale from one to four—to finalize a review in a score defining the worker’s worth to the company, or “overall value.”

An employee’s performance score can be low if he or she demonstrates “questionable judgment,” creates “overly complex or simplistic solutions” to problems, does not “share knowledge” and is “dismissing other viewpoints,” or “argues too much and does not speak up enough.”

Factors that can boost an employee’s score include being reactive to customer needs, acting as a mentor, providing new ideas in discussions, and exhibiting a strong and adaptable work ethic.

Amazon’s controversial review record


Amazon’s new performance review instructions manual came out after the last one was received with heaps of controversy.

Last year’s documents, which were also reviewed by Insider, included a tiered ranking metric for employees, who would fall into one of five tiers.

But the process had evidence of a stack ranking system, Insider reported, which required a “certain percentage” of employees to rank in each tier, sometimes forcing evaluators to give adequate employees lower scores to place them in a tier that had not yet filled its quota, which could change their compensation changes, an Amazon employee told Insider.

Unlike last year’s document, the latest manual did not include any required quotas for separate tiers. In statements to reporters last year, Amazon denied using a stack ranking system.

Amazon’s performance review process also came under fire last year when an investigation by Vox found evidence of racial bias in the company’s hiring and promotion practices, as well as its review and rating systems.

Later in the year, Amazon released a statement promising it would be investigating any “statistically significant demographic differences” in both its performance rating system and the company’s attrition rate.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
When the State Replaces the Parent: How Gender Policy Is Redefining Custody and Coercion
Bill Clinton Denies Knowing Woman in Hot Tub Photo During Closed-Door Epstein Deposition
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton Testifies on Ties to Jeffrey Epstein Before Congressional Oversight Committee
Dyson Reaches Settlement in Landmark UK Forced Labour Case
Barclays and Jefferies Shares Fall After UK Mortgage Lender Collapse Rekindles Credit Market Concerns
Play Exploring Donald Trump’s Rise to Power by ‘Lehman Trilogy’ Author to Premiere in the UK
Man Arrested After Churchill Statue Defaced in Central London
Keir Starmer Faces Political Setback as Labour Finishes Third in High-Profile By-Election
UK Assisted Dying Bill Set to Fall Short in Parliament as Regional Initiatives Gain Ground
UK Defence Ministry Clarifies Position After Reports of Imminent Helicopter Contract
Independent Left-Wing Plumber Secures Shock Victory as Greens Surge in UK By-Election
Reform UK Refers Alleged ‘Family Voting’ Incidents in By-Election to Police
United Kingdom Temporarily Withdraws Embassy Staff from Iran Amid Heightened Regional Tensions
UK Government Reaches Framework Agreement on Release of Mandelson Vetting Files
UK Police Contracts With Israeli Surveillance Firms Spark Debate Over Ethics and Oversight
Spain to Conduct Border Checks on Gibraltar Arrivals Under New Post-Brexit Framework
Engie Shares Jump After $14 Billion Agreement to Acquire UK Power Grid Assets
BNP Paribas Overtakes Goldman Sachs in UK Investment Banking League Tables
Geothermal Project to Power Ten Thousand Homes Marks UK Renewable Energy Milestone
UK Visa Grants Drop Nineteen Percent in 2025 as Migration Controls Tighten
Barclays and Jefferies Among Banks Exposed to Collapse of UK Mortgage Lender MFS
UK Asylum Applications Edge Down in 2025 Despite Rise in Small Boat Crossings
Jefferies Reports Significant Exposure After Collapse of UK Lender MFS
FTSE 100 Reaches Fresh Record Highs as Major Share Buybacks and Earnings Lift London Stocks
So, what's happened is, I think, government policy, not just under Labour, but under the Conservatives as well, has driven a lot of small landlords out of business.
Larry Summers, the former U.S. Treasury Secretary, is resigning from Harvard University as fallout continues over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
U.S. stocks ended higher on Wednesday, with the Dow gaining about six-tenths of a percent, the S&P 500 adding eight-tenths of a percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbing roughly one-and-a-quarter percent.
From fears of AI-fuelled unemployment to Big Tech's record investment, this is AI Weekly.
Apple just dropped iOS 26.4.
US Lawmakers Seek Briefing from UK Over Reported Encryption Order Directed at Apple
UK Business Secretary Calls on EU to Remove Trade Barriers Hindering Growth
Legal Pathways for Removing Prince Andrew from Britain’s Line of Succession Examined
PM Netanyahu welcome India PM Narendra Modi to Israel
Shadow Diplomacy: How Harry and Meghan’s Jordan Trip Undermines the Monarchy
Britain’s Channel Crisis: Paying Billions While the Boats Keep Coming
Downing Street’s Veteran Deception Scandal
UK HealthCare Expands ‘Food as Health’ Initiative Statewide to Tackle Chronic Illness in Kentucky
Leonardo Chief Says UK Set to Decide on New Medium Helicopter Programme
UK Slows Chagos Islands Agreement After Concerns Raised in Washington
European and UK Stock Markets Reach Fresh Highs as Banks and Miners Lead Rally
UK Government Insists Chagos Islands Negotiations Continue After Minister’s ‘Pause’ Remark
No Confirmed Deal for Engie to Acquire UK Power Networks Amid Market Speculation
UK Reaffirms Updated Entry Requirements for Travellers as of February 25, 2026
Lord Mandelson Condemns Arrest as Driven by ‘Baseless Suggestion’ He Would Flee Abroad
Former UK Ambassador Released on Bail Following Arrest in Epstein-Linked Investigation
UK Parliament Orders Release of Former Prince Andrew’s Government Vetting Files
Reddit Fined £14 Million by UK Regulator Over Failures in Age Verification Controls
UK Moves to Tighten Regulation of Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video Under New Media Rules
British Woman Who Reported Rape in Hong Kong Faces Possible Prosecution
UK Sanctions New Zealand Insurer Maritime Mutual Following Allegations Over Russian Oil Cover
×