Anyone who does any research during their job hunt will read that Amazon has the worst work-life balance paired with aggressive/punitive performance reviews.

The other big names will pay you the same or more and treat you better.

Because their reputation as an engineering employer is awful?

Their reputation as an employer is as awful as can be. And why would anyone who knows how they treat their warehouse workers -- and who doesn't? -- think they're fundamentally a friend of any employee?

exhibit a:

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/09/my-wife-was-dyi...

For the engineers that can pass Amazon's 'hiring bar', other companies will often match or do better on total comp. For a long time in Toronto they were the highest offer, but those days are over.

Amazon also has an on-call culture that - depending on the team - can be brutal. And it's often viewed as the team's own fault and problem to fix.

There are some really wonderful niches within Amazon that I will continue to refer friends to.

Amazon doesn't pay competitively.