Management consulting firm EY said it will reward employees who demonstrate human skills, such as business acumen and judgment.
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FTC and 22 states sue Amazon for 'hidden surcharges' as E&Y awards $100 million in bonuses for people skills

The ledger is explicit: FTC and 22 states sue Amazon for alleged 'hidden surcharges,' while E&Y allocates $100 million in bonuses for workers with 'people skills.' The juxtaposition is not accidental. The hidden fees are not merely a cost of business, they're a revenue stream. The bonuses are not just a reward, they're a line item for customer-facing labor. The rug-pull is the precision: the dollar value sits beside the lawsuit, both carried by the same industry. The gap is visible—regulators chase the surcharge, firms chase the charm. The reader sees the mechanism: the consumer pays for both, one at checkout, one on the payroll. The punchline is the economy. Hon, the only surprise is that the fees and the bonuses don't share a line on your statement. The con is in the ledger, the cost is in the cart.
“The government goes after Amazon for hidden fees, and E&Y hands out $100 million for folks who can smile at customers. The con is right in the receipts: the cost of doing business is making you pay for being nice.”
“Amazon is just innovating with new fee structures, and E&Y is rewarding excellence. It's all about efficiency and customer satisfaction, not—did I say 'hidden'? I meant 'transparent.'”
The receipts
The Federal Trade Commission and a bipartisan coalition of 22 states sued Amazon on Monday for allegedly misleading advertisers over the past seven years by imposing “hidden surcharges.” The complaint, filed in the Western District of…
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.