Amazon offers to pay employees to quit

Once every year, Amazon makes this offer to its full-time associates at its fulfillment centres who have worked for at least a year. 

Amazon offers $2,000 to employees who have been at the company one year, raising the amount by $1,000 per year of tenure, up to a maximum of $5,000.

However, the deal comes with a condition — those who accept the offer can never work at Amazon again.

Amazon says it actually wants people working at Amazon who want to work there to stay. "In the long-term, staying somewhere you don't want to be isn't healthy for our employees or for the company."

This program is not Amazon's brainchild. It was first put into practice by online shoe retailer Zappos, which extended this offer to its newest employees, within the first few weeks of employment, offering them "quitting bonus" of $1,000.

When Amazon bought Zappos in 2009, it adapted it within the company.  

Acording to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the company doesn't actually actually want employees to accept the offer. In fact, the headline on the memo states "Please Don't Take This Offer."

"The goal is to encourage folks to take a moment and think about what they really want," Bezos said in a 2014 shareholder letter . And according to Amazon, few people actually accept.

Employees who decline the offer are psychologically committing themselves to the company, which makes them more productive.

By making this offer, Amazon is able to eliminate employees who are disengaged from the company.