The author is emoting, not thinking.
Anyone who says Amazon stifles innovation is stupid.
Amazon is the most advanced logistics organization in the history of man.
Created through innovation.
Some perspective. First-timers are treated like robots in any industry, any company. Look at burger flippers, they are actually replaced in some places.
That the software is crappy should not be surprising. When was the last time you hear of any coder/programmer take responsibility for his/her code? Not, “sorry boss”, but, “That was dumb, I’m docking your pay.”
Software is written in this country (can’t speak for others, I’ve only done procedures and contracts for domestic coders) so that if it (inevitably) fails, well, that’s the breaks. If software “engineers” made bridges or buildings like they code, the prisons would fill up rapidly. Because the engineers who build bridges and buildings are personally (and criminally sometimes) responsible for screwing up.