That reputation wasn't built overnight, and it won't change overnight, despite what one out-of-touch billionaire says.
The recruiter response is, invariably, that the article that I read did not really say what it said, or that the things that I thought were bad are actually good. None of my questions about workplace specifics ever get answered. One of these is always "Do you expect salaried employees to work more than 40 hours per week?"
Seems like that would be an easy one to answer, right? Just say either "no", or "yes" and a specific number. They have never answered directly; it has been equivocating all the way.
So I'm not surprised at all that Bezos would simply deny what is actually happening on his watch, as reported by current and former employees, far below the C-level ranks. As they say, the first obstacle to fixing your problem is admitting you have one.
It makes it very easy to ignore their phone calls.