Amazon Prime Day is just around the corner. For many of the more than 150,000 full-time warehouse workers in North American fulfillment centers, that means mandatory overtime and, according to a new report citing internal Amazon data, a spike in injuries.
The Sept. 29 report from Reveal News, an investigative news nonprofit, claims that Amazon has repeatedly misrepresented what its own data on worker safety shows: Namely, that "injury rates have spiked during the weeks of Prime Day."
This would not be the first time Amazon's own data failed to match up with its carefully curated rosy exterior of worker satisfaction. Amazon has for years claimed there is no meaningful increase in worker injuries over the course of, what it calls "peak." In Amazon lingo, peak is the time from Black Friday through the Christmas shopping season.
"Because of our robust safety management and diligent record-keeping," an Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider in 2018, "we know for a fact that recordable incidents do not increase during peak."
That claim has been reputably disputed by outside groups. According to Business Insider, the spokesperson did not provide any data to back up her claim.
We reached out to Amazon about the Reveal News report, and asked if its own internal data does indeed show spikes in worker injuries around Prime Day. In response, an Amazon spokesperson did not specifically address that claim, but did have a lot to say.
"We strongly refute the claims that we've misled anyone," read the lengthy statement in part. "We continue to see improvements in injury prevention and reduction through programs focused on improved ergonomics, delivering guided physical and wellness exercises, providing mechanical workstation assistance equipment, improving workstation setup and design, forklift telematics, and forklift guardrails to separate equipment from pedestrians—to name a few."
Importantly, the reported increase in injuries isn't merely tied to Prime Day. While that marketing campaign does indeed see a spike, Reveal News notes that fulfillment center injuries in general have been increasing every year for the past four years.
"In 2019, Amazon fulfillment centers recorded 14,000 serious injuries — those requiring days off or job restrictions," reads the report. "The overall rate of 7.7 serious injuries per 100 employees was 33% higher than in 2016 and nearly double the most recent industry standard."
SEE ALSO: Amazon quietly announces major expansion to neighborhood surveillance networks
Prime Day, typically held over two days in July, was postponed this year, presumably due to the coronavirus and corresponding concerns about worker safety. Now scheduled for Oct. 13 and 14, the shopping bonanza is, shall we say, primed to deliver its unique blend of pain and suffering to workers around the country along with a spate of packages.
Of course, your house doesn't need to be on the receiving end.
UPDATE: Sept. 29, 2020, 2:49 p.m. PDT: This story has been updated to include a statement from an Amazon spokesperson.
