This isn't all. Sometimes, even when you're not a _fire-worthy employee_ (for lack of a better term), just to fuck you up, the manager could choose to mark you as "least effective" in the year-end / mid-year review and not really put you up for a PIP... Now... even though you performed good enough, there's no jury to appeal to. What happens next is that the manager could then systematically deprive you of quality work and come year-end / mid-year review, s/he has a solid case to PIP you and throw you out. Note that, being marked "least effective" essentially means that one can't transfer internally to other teams unless someone wayy higher up the management chain approves of the transfer.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't see this seemingly happen with multiple people across multiple Amazon development centers.

This place is toxic and puts way too much power in the hands of the managers, and the net result is that the managers have their favourites, and that the engineers are nothing but puppets, and that engineers are busy back-biting each other, and the managers enjoy the shit show from the sidelines. Despite not having any moral high-ground, all managers in an org review every reportee in that org with absolutely zero fairness, there's no integrity whatsoever, from what I've heard.

And I'd be lying if I said this _thinking_ didn't take it roots right at the very top of the management hierarchy (...according to employees I've spoken to).