Injury rates at Amazon warehouses spiked by 20% in 2021, despite Jeff Bezos’ promise before he stepped down as chief executive a year ago to address the problem, according to a report.
The Strategic Organizing Center, a group of four labor unions representing 4 million workers, found that Amazon accounts for about half of all warehouse injuries, SOC said on Tuesday. At the same time, the e-commerce giant only accounts for one-third of all warehouse jobs in the US.
The report is based on data submitted to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Workers at Amazon facilities sustained about 38,000 injuries in 2021 compared to 27,700 in 2020 and 21,200 in 2019, and the serious injury rate was 6.8 per 100 Amazon workers, compared to a 3.3 per 100 for non-Amazon facilities, according to the study.
Jeff Bezos promised last year that Amazon would invest in reducing repetitive injuries caused by working at its facilities. Denver Post via Getty Images
More than 10 states are introducing legislation to address the high productivity rate requirements at warehouses. Denver Post via Getty Images
An Amazon employee seen working in a warehouse. Denver Post via Getty ImagesIn his final letter to shareholders in 2021, Bezos said the company was investing $300 million in safety projects to reduce so-called repetitive stress injuries at Amazon’s 1,500 facilities worldwide.
The SOC blamed the higher injury rate last year on Amazon ramping up its productivity requirements after relaxing them in 2020 during the height of the pandemic.
By October 2020, “even as COVID caseloads were beginning to rise,” according to the report, Amazon reinstated its production work rates “just ahead of Prime Day” as part of its “obsessive focus on speed,” according to the report.
Amazon said in a statement to The Post that the company had hired tens of thousands of people to meet unforeseen demand that came from COVID-19.
“Like other companies in the industry, we saw an increase in recordable injuries during this time from 2020 to 2021 as we trained so many new people — however, when you compare 2021 to 2019, our recordable injury rate declined more than 13% year over year,” said Kelly Nantel, the Amazon spokeswoman.
“While we still have more work to do and won’t be satisfied until we are excellent when it comes to safety, we continue to make measurable improvements in reducing injuries and keeping employees safe, and appreciate the work from all of our employees and safety teams who are contributing to this effort.”
Amazon warehouse workers account for one-third of the industry but half of all the injuries, according to labor group report. AFP via Getty Images
Labor groups have seized on worker safety issues to advance their organizing efforts at Amazon warehouses. AFP via Getty Images
A warehouse associate wears a specialized robotic vest that allows her to access Amazon’s robotic floors. Denver Post via Getty Images“Amazon’s high-pressure production model hurts workers,” the SOC wrote in the report. In Amazon’s home city, Seattle, Washington state’s OSHA office cited Amazon for violating federal health and safety law, linking the company’s high pace of work with its facilities’ high rates of injuries, according to the report.
In September 2021, California passed legislation aimed at curbing warehouse production rates, citing Amazon’s work speed as a key reason for the law, and 10 similar bills have been introduced in other states, according to the report.
Labor groups pounced on the findings, including Teamsters president Sean O’Brien, who said in a statement, “Amazon is an abusive employer. They show total disregard for working people. It’s time to face the bully head-on.” The Teamsters are one of the four labor groups that comprise SOC.
