Is Amazon intentionally firing their minority workers?
By: Grace Gillis & CJ Rosenbaum
As an Amazon employee do you feel as though discrimination is common in your workplace?
It has been found that Amazon is more likely to fire their Black workers by 50%. Although Amazon does “burn through” their workers quickly, averaging at around 150% in a year, minority groups tend to get fired quicker and more often. This is a major issue, especially in the New York City warehouse where over 60% of workers are Black or Latino.
New reports examine Amazon’s strained
‘employment machine’ and alleged race problem
As reported by Geek Wire 1 on June 15, Amazon’s employment practices have been closely inspected after two detailed reports revealed how the tech giant is struggling to manage their workforce after they have been accused of racial inequity and poor treatment of their employees. Amazon’s fulfillment center in New York City had increased sales throughout the COVID pandemic. An investigation by the New York Times shows that Amazon’s method of managing their employees was strained, finding that Amazon would “burn through” workers with firing, stalled benefits, and failed communication.
Supporting Data
The report by The Times found that the turnover rate for Amazon’s hourly workers is around 150% a year, even prior to the pandemic. Amazon’s disability and leave system has glitches that lead workers who apply to be penalized for missing work and oftentimes fired for the glitch. Employees are constantly tracked for their speed, when they move too slow or have too much idle time they could be fired. Lastly, in 2019 over 60% of the employee’s at the New York Amazon warehouse were Black or Latino, but Black workers were 50% more likely to be fired then their white peers.
Lately, Amazon has been receiving scrutiny for their treatment of employees. In Bessemer, Alabama a unionization movement was started but a large margin of employees voted against it. Thus ending the most serious unionization effort that Amazon has ever experienced. Jeff Bezos wrote in his annual shareholder letter that he was committed to making Amazon “Earth’s
Best Employer and Earth’s Safest Place to Work.”
https://www.geekwire.com/2021/new-reports-examine-amazons-strained-employment-machine-alleged-race-problem/