In one year, online shop Amazon fired more than 300 workers citing lack of ‘productivity’ at a single facility in America.
But these employees weren’t called into their manager’s office for a one-on-one. They weren’t talked through their apparent ‘failings’ and given a chance to redeem themselves. They weren’t given an explanation by their boss, before being kicked to the curb.
They were reportedly automatically fired. As in, an automated system tracking their every move while at work, had the power and full authority to fire them from their jobs.
Speaking of work. Which kind of work wife are you? Post continues after video.
Amazon’s fulfilment centres are the engine of the company — massive warehouses where workers track, pack, sort, and shuffle each order before sending it on its way to the buyer’s door.
Workers are on the job for about 10 hours a day, and face strenuous conditions.
They have a “make rate” and pack hundreds of boxes per hour.
The system tracks how many breaks they take, and for how long. Many are too scared to go to the toilet in case the metric logs too much “time off task.”
Others resort to relieving themselves in bottles, reported an undercover reporter with the Verge.
The same reporter described the conditions inside the warehouse as more or a “prison or an airport”. There are high security scanners that check in workers, and ban them from items like hoodies, sunglasses, and phones.
They’re not allowed to be sick, even with a medical note. One worker describes being called in to talk about his ‘conduct’ after doing this.
