“Amazon warehouse workers suffer serious injuries at higher rates than other forms”, 01 June 2021

Amazon, the second-largest private employer in the United States, is also a leader in another category: how often its warehouse workers are injured.

… [D]ata from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration showed those jobs can be more dangerous than at comparable warehouses…

In 2020, for every 200,000 hours worked at an Amazon warehouse in the United States … there were 5.9 serious incidents, according to the OSHA data. That’s nearly double the rate of non-Amazon warehouses. In comparison, Walmart, the largest private U.S. employer and one of Amazon’s competitors, reported 2.5 serious cases per 100 workers at its facilities in 2020.

The data did not detail causes for the incidents, but some former OSHA officials, union representatives and Amazon workers place the blame on productivity pressures. The e-commerce giant pushes many of its warehouse staff — particularly those at fulfillment centers, sorting centers and delivery stations — to meet hourly rates to stow, pick and pack items. Critics say those metrics are too onerous and lead to injuries.

“They have unrealistic expectations,” said Bobby Gosvener, who worked at an Amazon warehouse in Tulsa until he was injured late last year.

“We don’t set unreasonable performance goals,” Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who owns The Post, wrote in a letter to shareholders in April, in which he addressed workplace safety issues. “We set achievable performance goals that take into account tenure and actual employee performance data.”