Leave of absence

Amazon managers sometimes tell people who have difficulties in their personal life to take a leave of absence and then terminate them during their absence.

Crazy, right? I've personally seen it happen to two people and heard about it happening to a few more. I talked to one of them after getting fired and he said that he would be coming back because Amazon HR told him he still had a job and they weren't going to fire him for taking an approved Leave of Absence.

I never saw or heard from him again after that. Maybe this experience left such a bad taste in his mouth that he just decided not to come back. Or more likely, he was really fired and couldn't come back, which happens to a few people here and there when they show up at work and scan their badge and it just doesn't work any more.