Amazon manipulates worker injury data, Senate panel's probe alleges
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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) delivers remarks on stage at NHTI Concord Community College before President Biden on Oct. 22. Photo: Scott Eisen/Getty Images
A new report out from the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), accuses Amazon of manipulating data on worker injuries and ignoring safety concerns.
The big picture: The online retail giant has faced intense scrutiny in recent years over allegations of unsafe or grueling work conditions.
- Amazon warehouses recorded over 30% more injuries than the warehousing industry average in 2023, per an analysis of company data highlighted in the report.
- "Amazon forces workers to operate in a system that demands impossible rates and treats them as disposable when they are injured," Sanders said in a statement. His panel's 18-month probe drew from over 130 interviews with workers and company documents.
- In a statement, Amazon said it cooperated with the investigation and pushed back on what it called the "biased nature" of the report and its findings.
Driving the news: The report alleged that Amazon cherry-picks data to obscure disproportionately dangerous facilities compared to other industry warehouses.
- Some workers interviewed said they routinely bypassed safety measures to meet "productivity requirements." The findings also cited workers who said they suffered chronic pain and temporary or permanent disabilities because of injuries sustained in Amazon warehouses.
- The report stated that in each of the past seven years, Amazon workers are about twice as likely to be injured as workers in non-Amazon warehouses.
Zoom in: The report alleges that Amazon's reports of declining recordable injury rates are misleading, saying the company boasts numbers compared to an "outlier year" and compares its rate to only a "small subcategory of the industry."
The other side: "There's zero truth to the claim that we systemically under-report injuries," Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement.
- "Sen. Sanders and his staff chose to rely on the debunked Soteria analysis because it fits the false narrative he wanted to build," the company's release said.
- Nantel also pointed to a decision from a Washington state judge earlier his year to throw out citations from state regulators accusing Amazon of putting workers at risk of certain injuries.
What they're saying: "This report should set off even more alarms about the ongoing safety crisis for workers at Amazon," said Michael Zucker, the executive director of the Strategic Organizing Center, a coalition of labor unions that has analyzed Amazon's workplace injury data for years.
- Zucker added, "Now is the time for workers, consumers and regulators to hold the company accountable and force it to get serious about preventing injuries."
Our thought bubble, from Axios' Emily Peck: It's hard to imagine Amazon facing harsh consequences for the report's findings after the Trump administration comes in next year.
- Though the president-elect has been supportive of labor in some instances during his campaign and as he prepares to retake the White House, it's broadly expected that the Republican-controlled federal government will be more lax about labor regulations.
Go deeper: Amazon gives $1M to 2025 inaugural fund in latest Big Tech gift for Trump
Editor's note: The story has been updated with comment from the Strategic Organizing Center.
