Amazon mobile in SF here. Culture is great! Snacks and drinks in the office, most of the office is gone by 5. I don't know whether the AWS office is the same, but I've heard it is a general tendency of the teams in the bay to bring the more relaxed culture to Amazon. We're not pampered, but it's rather comfortable and the work is exciting.
I've have friends who hated Amazon and friends who love it. I believe you have to put in your time to get seniority and you have to find yourself a good boss. But bad bosses protecting their turf from underlings are a problem everywhere.
ive heard from colleagues who worked there that the culture is very lone wolf, you don't get much support. if you like autonomy its great. also the amenities compared to other tech companies in the bay leave something to be desired. but im sure thats all highly dependent on the team and role.
Mozilla to Amazon! You will experience amazing culture shock :P
Because Amazon is so horrible?
Because Mozilla is so comfortable. I am from Mozilla too.