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NEW YORK, NEW YORK — Amazon Prime Day, the highly anticipated 48-hour discount event, has been identified as a significant cause of worker injuries, according to the preliminary results of a Senate investigation. The Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee released interim findings on Tuesday, coinciding with the start of this year’s Prime Day sales.
The yearlong probe into Amazon’s warehouse conditions revealed alarming injury rates. Amazon’s internal data from Prime Day 2019 indicated a total injury rate of “just under” 45 injuries per 100 workers, which equates to nearly half of the company’s warehouse workforce. These figures include injuries not required to be disclosed to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
“Amazon continues to treat its workers as disposable and with complete contempt for their safety and well-being,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, chair of the HELP Committee. “That is unacceptable and that has got to change.”
The report highlights that Amazon’s warehouses were understaffed during Prime Day and other peak shopping seasons, posing significant risks to workers who had to handle increased volumes without adequate support. An internal document titled “2021 Prime Day Lessons Learned” revealed that Amazon met only 71.2% of its hiring target between May and June 2021, leading up to that year’s Prime Day.
In response, Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel criticized the report, claiming it ignores the company’s progress. “It draws sweeping and inaccurate conclusions based on unverified anecdotes, and it misrepresents documents that are several years old and contained factual errors and faulty analysis,” Nantel said. She noted that since 2019, Amazon has reduced its incident rate requiring more than basic first aid by 28% in the U.S. and its lost time incident rate by 75%.
Amazon has faced increasing scrutiny over its workplace injury record and treatment of warehouse and delivery workers. The company has been cited by federal regulators for safety violations, and both OSHA and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are investigating conditions at several warehouses. The U.S. Department of Justice is also examining whether Amazon underreports injuries.
In March, Amazon reported improvements in its injury rates and announced plans to invest over $750 million in safety initiatives this year. The company has appealed several OSHA citations related to safety hazards and violations. Additionally, Amazon has started automating some tasks and implementing more robotic systems in its warehouses, which it claims can enhance safety, though this assertion remains debated.
As the investigation continues, the findings underscore the critical need for improved worker safety measures during high-demand periods such as Prime Day.