Same reason some people go work in Defense.

Money.

I don’t work in defense and I don’t want to, but I’d say defense is much more a gray area than Amazon. Defense is required, but has definitely gone of the rails in ways.

On the other hand, Amazon is definitely not required at all, it’s a pure race to the bottom play.

Most of the people I know in defense are relatively mission oriented.

The way they treat even their tech people is horrible. I would say either you get paid a fortune or you work there to have amazon on your resume on the way to a better gig.

Have you been to India? There is high income inequality and poverty and labor is cheap. People are willing to do anything to have a better life and they don’t care if it affects other people . With 1.3 billion people competition for survival is fierce and empathy for others may lead to your downfall as only the fittest survive . The education is geared towards STEM to be highly employable and make money to get out of poverty . Amazon and big tech love India for smart , dedicated and hardworking workers who do not question broader societal questions and serve the company. PS - Sorry I am stereotyping to an extent and do not mean to come across as hateful. Just answering why tech people want to work in such situations.

I should probably have been more specific in my comment; I fully understand people who are working on visa's (or wanting to obtain one) working for these companies.

What I don't understand is why people who have no "nothing to lose" incentive (for example are "native" citizens of a country such company is based in) want to work for these companies. These people can lead perfectly comfortable lives without working for companies which behave questionably.