Amazon demands proof of productivity from employees, asking for list of accomplishments
The tech giant is asking its corporate employees to describe three to five accomplishments that reflect their work.
Internal documents reveal that Amazon is asking its corporate workers to list three to five accomplishments that reflect their best work, according to people familiar with the matter and an internal guideline obtained by Business Insider.
Employees must provide specific examples of what they delivered to the company, along with actions they plan to take in order to continue growing at the company.
“Accomplishments are specific projects, goals, initiatives, or process improvements that show the impact of your work,” the internal guideline specified. “Consider situations where you took risks or innovated, even if it didn’t lead to the results you hoped for.”
Evolving cultural standards in the tech world
The performance review process, known internally as Forte, helps the company determine future pay. The new performance standards mark a break from previous reviews, according to people familiar with the matter, placing greater emphasis on individual accomplishments than in recent years.
Amazon has about 350,000 corporate employees and a total workforce of approximately 1.56 million globally, with most of its corporate employees subject to the performance review process. Past Amazon reviews have placed less emphasis on productivity, instead asking employees about their areas of interest and strengths, posing questions like “When you’re at your best, how do you contribute?”
To be sure, productivity is a common metric measured in corporate performance reviews. Productivity, along with goal progress, strengths and attendance are common talking points of corporate performance reviews. And an updated performance review does not indicate that Amazon plans to conduct layoffs.
Yet Amazon’s performance review models standards around employee discipline that have become commonplace throughout the tech industry in recent years. After taking over X (formerly Twitter) in 2022, Elon Musk demanded Twitter employees explain what they accomplished each week, a tactic he brought to the federal government as head of the Department of Government Efficiency last year. CBS News chief Bari Weiss asked her staff to describe their jobs to her when she took over in October 2025, according to a memo viewed by Business Insider.
An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by Fortune.
Changes at Amazon under CEO Andy Jassy
The review shift matches similar changes made at Amazon since Jassy took over from founder Jeff Bezos as CEO. In September 2024, the company initiated a return-to-office requirement for corporate employees and, in May 2025, to better reward the highest performers.