
I'm not a robot: Amazon workers condemn unsafe, grueling conditions at warehouse - vanusa
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/feb/05/amazon-workers-protest-unsafe-grueling-conditions-warehouse
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totalZero
Without taking a side in this battle...it strikes me that Amazon's biggest
incentive for automating its distribution network, aside from labor cost
itself, is that robots don't write petitions.

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chriselles
I remember the very early days at Amazon in distribution operations.

It was an incredibly eclectic and progressive group of awesome freaks.

We needed to:

1)delight the customer 2)manage the constant growth of orders 3)grow the team
to help manage the constant growth

Somehow we managed to achieve all 3, although often not unlike the famously
funny I Love Lucy skit:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkQ58I53mjk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkQ58I53mjk)

But from my anecdotal perspective, I do believe it resulted in the rise of a
harsher and more transactional culture.

In order to achieve the 3 above, it meant there was precious little time to
invest in helping those who were struggling in a very high operational tempo
environment.

It was very much sink or swim.

If you were a proven consistent swimmer, there was certainly far more sympathy
for having an occasional bad day.

If not, it was very much a cold and clinical:

“Knock knock” “Who’s there?” “Not you anymore.”

It doesn’t make it ok.

But it doesn’t make it illegal or evil either.

Amazon distribution operations was not, and is not, for everyone.

“March or die.”
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7z691yC9pc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7z691yC9pc)

Having seen many thousands come in/out of Amazon’s gen 1&2 distribution center
doors across numerous locations(20 years ago), a high percentage of people
quickly leave when they learn they can’t hide from their lack of reasonable
productivity.

But there are very few companies on the planet that have created as many
opportunities for unskilled workers to develop and grow with the company as
well as earn a stake in the outcome.

A guy working for me who started as an Associate and was promoted to Lead when
we were expanding beyond books is now Director of Logistics.

Countless others were promoted and transferred within the company.

Early stage Amazon distribution operations associates stock options are easily
worth $2-3+ million, not including additional stock units gained since.

There isn’t the same upside on stock units today, but wages and benefits are
much better compared to 20 years ago.

Things could have been better, and they have gotten better, and there’s
certainly more room for improvement.

But if Amazon wasn’t valued at $1 trillion, this would be a non story.

It’s not that I’m unsympathetic, it’s that when I look at the profit per
employee for Amazon’s distribution operations, it has far more in common with
Applebee’s that Apple.

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jdkee
Frankly it is criminal what this organization gets away with with regards to
humane labor practices. And it is criminal that one person made such a huge
fortune off of the backs of so many other people. Perhaps the 21st century
will see an end to this scale of exploitation, perhaps not.

