Want to Work at Amazon? You’d Be Safer in Prison

• Recent reports suggest that the injury rate at an Amazon warehouse in Texas is almost double the national incident rate.
• The incident rate in the Amazon warehouse in 2019 was 9.59, while the prison rate is 7.3.
• Crushed hands and feet, concussion, and electric shock are among the injuries suffered by staff at the Texas factory.

Amazon hasn’t had it easy of late when it comes to questions over safety.

The retail giant has been under scrutiny from journalists to such an extent that chief PR executive Jay Carney lashed out on Twitter.

The whole escapade was embarrassing, to say the least. Carney is a former White House press secretary, and while that’s not a high bar for respectable behavior, you would still expect better.

Times are dangerous in the great state of Texas

Haslet, Texas is a small city of just under 2,000 people. It’s also home to one of the most dangerous workplaces in America.

The Texas Amazon warehouse sees nearly twice as many accidents as the industry standard. This makes it more dangerous to spend time in that warehouse as an employee than it does to be an employee in a Texas prison.

Injuries reported include crushed hands and feet, fractures, concussions, and even electric shock.

Talking of electric shocks, did I mention that working in the Amazon warehouse is also more dangerous than working in a psych ward?

Amazon issues a laughable response to criticism

You would maybe think that Amazon would be willing to hold its hands up and admit guilt over its terrible safety record. Acknowledge the facts, promise to do better, right?

Nope.

Amazon’s response? To blame other companies for not being as diligent as they are when it comes to reporting incidents:

Studies from reputable organizations and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that companies across the industry under-record safety incidents in order to keep their rates low—Amazon does the opposite—we take an aggressive stance on recording injuries no matter how big or small.

That’s right, similar businesses have the same issues but just don’t report them. Crush your foot or get an electric shock at a non-Amazon warehouse in Texas, and you get a sticking plaster and a lollipop and told to suck it up.

Amazon employees should be thankful that their employer takes the time to report their fractures and concussions suffered at work!

Working at Amazon is like working in prison

In an interview with Amazon employees in New York, one claimed that working for Amazon was like working in prison. How would he know? He was actually in prison! Jimpat Lacewell claims he’d happily go back to jail rather than work for Amazon:

I would rather go back to a state correctional facility and work for 18 cents an hour than do that job.

He lasted three days with Amazon.

Despite the scathing criticism from former employees like Jimpat, Amazon continues to ignore workers’ complaints, claiming the company is proud of the working environment it provides:

[The company is] proud to provide a safe, quality work environment in which associates are the heart and soul of our operations.

Maybe it’s time for parents to start threatening wayward children that a career working for Amazon awaits if they don’t straighten out their lives.

Prison? That’s for the lucky ones who don’t wind up working for Amazon!