Based on Amazon's hiring procedure, which includes both technical and behavioral requirements, I've always assumed that employees there are intelligent and trustworthy.
How did these people end up on PIP? I am aware that management needs to trim the grass to a particular percentage. Is that all? Or are they really struggling? Like getting a job by accident or coasting, or are team members significantly smarter than them?
Maybe ll of the above...
In addition to above reasons, a lot of hires get through to Amazon by leetcoding for 6 months. That doesn't necessarily translate into real world performance.
It's the Jack Welch vitality curve, always layoff the bottom 10% of the bottom feeders and replenish the flock with new blood to breathe new ideas while keeping the rest of the workforce on their toes. It's social Darwinism at its best, only the strong, new profit ideas employees survive.
Amazon is a political company. Whether you get PIPd is not based on performance or results. It's based on friendly you are with the management. This should not sound unbelievable. After all you hear about how poorly the warehouse employees are treated. Do think this abuse is limited to them? The rot is all around.