Beyond hard to believe that represents the true sentiment at AWS towards this policy - he should at least be aware that people won't give him honest feedback to his face.
Sure some outfits pay better, and with accepting that comes "responsiblity." That is, align your values and keep your mouth shut.
If you don't like your current station, update your CV and move on. But to whine with a sense of entitlement is in direct opposition to understanding what "at will" means.
And regardless of employment rights, this can be still questioned as being a dumb move, because such ham-fisted mandates will most likely make the best employees leave (those who won't have trouble finding another job), reducing overall quality of the workforce.
The point is, people have expectation based on their own self-created misunderstanding.
Yeah, it sucks. Yeah, it might seem shortsighted. But *no one* should be the least bit surprised or upset.
Again, "at will".