Amazon knew about the connection between rising worker injuries and the company's production quotas, but its executives allegedly disregarded safety recommendations to loosen its mandate, according to an investigation by lawmakers. Found in.
conclusion The health reports are based on internal Amazon documents compiled by the Senate Committee on Education, Labor and Pensions, which is chaired by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
“This 160-page report reveals shockingly dangerous working conditions in Amazon warehouses that are unacceptable,” Sanders said in a statement. “Amazon executives decided to prioritize profits ahead of the health and safety of their employees by repeatedly ignoring recommendations that would significantly reduce injuries.”
Amazon disputed the findings and accused Sanders of misrepresenting the company's safety record.
A company spokesperson said, “The report is inaccurate as to the facts and stitches together old documents and anecdotal anecdotes to create a preconceived narrative.”
According to the Senate panel, Amazon began studying the impact of repetitive tasks on warehouse workers in 2021, including how many products they can pick from robotic shelving units. The report found that internal research found that workers who were trying to keep pace with company production quotas commonly exceeded that limit, beyond which injury rates increased.
The same study also advised using software to monitor the rate at which employees are picking up products and taking extra breaks to ensure employees don't frequently overdo it. But the Senate committee said recommendations aimed at improving workplace safety at Amazon and others were rejected by senior executives concerned about the “customer experience.”
A separate investigation by CBS News found that Amazon Trucking contractors have more Security breach rates. Questions about the e-commerce company's practices for moving packages between facilities emerged in January following the death of a 19-year-old Texas college student who was killed in a crash with an Amazon contract driver.
A CBS News analysis of federal safety data found that Amazon contractors in the company's delivery network had monthly violation rates — such as speeding and texting while driving — that were typically twice as high as those for carriers that don't transport for Amazon. Used to do.
Over the past two years, at least 57 people have died in more than four dozen accidents involving federally regulated carriers shipping to Amazon, according to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) data, although the data is not available. Tells whose fault it was. In these incidents.
Amazon disputes those findings. Tim Goodman, Amazon's global legal director for road safety, told CBS News that although the company requires background checks for contracted drivers who make deliveries directly to customers' homes, Amazon oversees so-called middle-mile contractors. FMCSA relies on freight transportation between facilities in large vehicles.