📦 Amazon’s out of workers

Read to the end for “peecycling,” a how-to book by Picasso, and a meme. [The Hustle] A country singer is suing Mariah Carey for $20m, citing her song “All I Want for Christmas is You” infringes on copyrights from his 1989 song of the same name. Despite a shared title, the songs don’t sound much alike. In today’s email: - Is Amazon out of workers? - By the numbers: Buzz Lightyear, teacher shortages, and more. - Peecycling: It’s exactly what it sounds like. - Around the web: Sunscreen surprises, how to market company culture, and more cool internet finds. 🎧 On the go? [Listen to today’s podcast]( to learn about why Amazon thinks weed could help solve its imminent staffing problem, and how one Amazon Robotics engineer sees the company’s robo-plans playing out. The big idea [Amazon warehouse]( Amazon’s unique hiring problem, explained Over the years, Amazon’s obsession with customers has helped it scale its world-class delivery services. (Who wouldn’t want their groceries dropped off in [13 minutes](?) But providing exceptional customer service hinges on having the workers to carry it through, and Amazon may be [running out of them](, per Recode. A leaked internal memo… … suggests the company could run out of candidates to staff its warehouses by 2024. The problem is twofold: - Rapid hiring: Amazon’s workforce doubled from ~800k to ~1.6m employees from 2019 to 2021. - Rapid turnover: Many Amazon jobs are viewed as transitory — the company churns through ~3x more workers than competitors. (Is [Bezosism]( to blame?) If you’re wondering how it’s even possible for an HR department to hire so many people so fast, you’re spot on — Amazon workers have been hired (and fired) without talking to a [single human](. Rapid hiring and firing… … may have put Amazon in this mess, but the company has options to get out of it, like: - Relaxing the rules: In places with a higher risk of worker shortage, Amazon’s been more lenient about its stringent workplace policies. - Increasing pay: Internal research at Amazon found that every dollar added to its minimum wage attracts 7% more workers into its hiring pool. Following that logic, an increase of $1.50/hr would extend Amazon’s runway by another three years. - Better planning: Amazon’s HR division believes the company can improve the situation by ensuring new warehouses have adequate local labor pools. Another possible solution? Doubling down on automation. Robots… … are nothing new to Amazon, which [purchased]( manufacturer Kiva Systems in 2012 — a deal that’s reportedly saved Amazon billions. The company has an internal goal of increasing productivity by 25% by 2024 strictly through improved automation. By then, if current hiring trends continue, a robot-dominant workforce may be Amazon’s only option. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Amazon%E2%80%99s+unique+hiring+problem%2C+explained%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F06212022-Amazon-workers%3Futm_campaign%3DAmazon%2Bhiring%26utm_content%3D06212022-Amazon-workers%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( SNIPPETS Bounce back: Bitcoin prices [rose above]( $20k for most of the day yesterday after dropping to $17.6k over the weekend. Letter fallout: SpaceX [fired]( employees involved in writing a letter that called Elon Musk’s tweeting and public behavior “a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment.” The number of affected employees is unclear. Big migration: TikTok said it [moved]( all US user data to stateside servers run by Oracle. On a related note, leaked audio from internal ByteDance meetings [revealed]( Chinese employees have had access to nonpublic data from US TikTok users as recently as January. Snapchat+: Snap is reportedly [running internal tests]( on Snapchat Plus, a premium subscription that would give users early access to new features. eComm evolution: Roku [partnered]( with Walmart in an agreement that will allow users to purchase Walmart products through shoppable ads on their TVs using Roku Pay. Going official: As your business grows and onboards workers, it may be time to consider incorporating it as an LLC or corporation. Check out the Hustle blog for a guide to [registering your venture]( as a business owner. --------------------------------------------------------------- Hey — enjoy getting quick updates on what you care about? Take [20 seconds]( to personalize your Snippets. Pick your preferences👇 and we’ll send you more of what you love. Boom. [Personalize my Email →]( By the numbers [Fridge No More cost]( Singdhi Sokpo Digits: 15-minute delivery, Lightyear, and teacher shortages 1) The economics behind 15-minute deliveries [are bad](. Jokr, which raised [$430m]( in venture capital, is now [shutting down]( US operations. Internal data shows the company was losing [$159 per order]( back in August 2021. 2) Not quite to infinity and beyond. Pixar’s Lightyear landed a [$51m opening weekend]( at the box office, below expectations and coming second to Jurassic World: Dominion ($58.7m). It managed to beat out Top Gun: Maverick ($44m), but this was the film’s fourth weekend in theaters, so… 3) BREAKING: America’s school systems. Approximately [300k teachers]( left their jobs between February 2020 and May 2022. A recent poll shows 55% of teachers plan to leave education sooner than originally planned, up from 37% last year. And 44% of public schools reported teacher vacancies this year. 4) Small businesses owners are reportedly upset that Google will start charging [~$6/mo. per user]( for its Workspace tools (e.g., Gmail, Docs, Calendar) this month after years of free use. 5) The Airbus A380 — a double-decker plane with a 262-foot wingspan — is mounting a comeback. In June 2020, airlines handled 43 A380 flights. This month, [~4k flights are planned](, with ~6k planned for January 2023, equivalent to ~60% of pre-pandemic levels. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Digits%3A+15-minute+delivery%2C+Lightyear%2C+and+teacher+shortages%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F06212022-digits%3Futm_campaign%3DAmazon%2Bhiring%26utm_content%3D06212022-digits%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Gee Whiz [toilet]( Uh, what is peecycling? It might sound weird, but people have been nourishing crops with human urine [for centuries](. Why? We ingest nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, then excrete them. Plants need them. Fabien Esculier — a researcher with France’s [OCAPI program](, which studies the management of human nutrient excretion — [told]( Euronews that human urine could replace synthetic fertilizers. Urine as a fertilizer has several benefits It’s less of a pollutant and typically cheaper than chemical fertilizer. Plus, collecting urine means not flushing it, thus not [polluting watersheds]( and saving water. The war in Ukraine and associated sanctions have also caused supply chain issues for farmers. Russia exports ~20% of the world’s nitrogen fertilizers and, combined with Belarus, 40% of the world’s exported potassium, [per]( Business Insider. Human pee could replace [25%]( of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers worldwide, according to Prithvi Simha of Sanitation360, a Swedish company converting pee into fertilizer. There are [barriers](, like: - Getting people to not feel icky about it - Changing plumbing infrastructure to collect urine But several projects are already underway In Vermont, the [Rich Earth Institute]( collects [10k+]( gallons/yr. from volunteers who bottle it at home, then bring it to a “urine depot.” In Sweden, [Sanitation360]( aims to collect 70k+ liters of urine in three years from waterless toilets. The urine is dried, pressed into pellets, and used to grow barley. BTW: If you’re curious about peeing on your own plants, well, the Rich Earth Institute also has [a guide]( for that. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Uh%2C+what+is+peecycling%3F%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F06212022-peecycling%3Futm_campaign%3DAmazon%2Bhiring%26utm_content%3D06212022-peecycling%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( TRENDS Nerdy Nuts’ $6m brand loyalty playbook When Trendster Craig Mount’s D2C peanut butter brand went viral on TikTok, he was ready. He [leveraged TikTok’s momentum like a machine](, reaching 20x growth and $500k/mo. in sales … for peanut butter. Small-batch, lip-smacking peanut butter. He’s busy managing 30+ employees, but his real talent lies in marketing. Here are three brand loyalty tips from the TikTok legend: - CEOs should hear directly from consumers. Craig stays on the pulse via a private text group with top community members. - Ambassadors > Influencers/referral programs. Sometimes, you gotta think smaller. As in, ever-loyal micro-micro-influencers. - Make use of community feedback and visibility. [Here’s how](. To finish reading the article and access our 15k+-strong network… [Try Trends for $1 →]( AROUND THE WEB 🏪 On this day: In 1879, the F.W. Woolworth Great Five Cent Store [opened]( in Lancaster, Pennsylvania — the first in a chain of dime stores. Today, the Woolworth company is known as Foot Locker. 🌞 What? According to Wirecutter, there is [no difference]( between baby and regular sunscreen. They just smell different. 🎧 Podcast: Eighty-eight percent of job seekers want a feel for a company’s culture before they apply. Marketer and author Yaagneshwaran Ganesh joins Work @ Life to discuss how to market your company culture to attract top talent. [Listen now](. ✏️ Art: Picasso made a series of how-to [drawing books]( for his daughter, currently on view for the first time in Paris. 🐿️ Aww: And now, look at this guy’s pet [squirrel](! Meme [Amazon delivery meme] They are quite the [committed]( group. (Source: [imgflip.com]() SHARE THE HUSTLE Hey. Stop keeping us a secret. Refer just 3 people and we’ll start to send some goodies as a thank you. [all prizes]( Spread the news. Help us grow 🌱 [Share The Hustle 🤠→]( Or copy this custom referral link: [ Your referral count: 0 How did you like today’s email? Today's email was brought to you by [Jacob Cohen](, [Juliet Bennett Rylah](, and [Rob Litterst](. Editing by: Jennifer “Peecycling. Really?” Wang. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. [PODCAST]( [JOBS]( [CONTACT US](mailto:news@thehustle.co) [Facebook]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( 25 FIRST ST. 2ND FLOOR, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02141, UNITED STATES  +1 888 482 7768 Never want to hear from us again? 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