Contracted workers in Amazon warehouses in Saudi Arabia were deceived by recruitment agents and labour supply companies, cheated of their earnings, housed in appalling conditions and prevented from finding alternative employment or leaving the country…

…In many cases, it is highly likely that the abuses suffered by workers amounted to human trafficking…

…Amnesty International has shared details of the investigation with Amazon, Al-Mutairi and Basmah, as well as the Saudi Arabian government. Amazon’s responses can be accessed here. The others have not responded…

In Saudi Arabia, the workers were mostly housed, for months, in dirty and overcrowded accommodation…

…workers said they were repeatedly required to lift very heavy items, ran to meet gruelling performance targets, were constantly monitored, and not allowed to rest adequately. In some cases this resulted in injuries and illness…

Most workers signed two-year contracts with the labour supply companies but many spent less than 12 months at Amazon’s facilities before the work ended, which some likened to being “fired”…

The vulnerability of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia was well documented before Amazon began operating there in 2020…

Workers began raising complaints directly with Amazon managers in Saudi Arabia in 2021…yet these were often ignored and the abuses continued into 2023…