Amazon In Trouble Over US Warehouse Safety, Study Finds

A Strategic Organizing Center study suggested that Amazon.com Inc AMZN warehouse workers in the U.S. suffered severe injuries at twice the rate of rival companies. 

In 2021, there were 6.8 severe injuries for every 100 Amazon warehouse workers, while all other employers in the warehouse industry suffered 3.3 severe injuries per 100 workers.

Amazon reported 38,300 total injuries at its U.S. facilities in 2021, up 20% year-on-year.

Also Read: Amazon's Business Practices Catches SEC's Attention

The vast majority of injuries in 2021 made the workers incapable of performing their regular job functions (light duty) or forced them to miss work entirely (lost time).

In 2021, Amazon accounted for almost half of all injuries in the industry while making up a third of all U.S. warehouse workers.

Earlier this year, Amazon disclosed spending $300 million on worker safety improvements in 2021. The rate of employees who missed work due to a workplace injury dropped by 43% in 2020 from the prior year.

Amazon's "customer obsession" and focus on speedy delivery have created an unsafe working environment leading to a greater focus on unionization efforts. 

Price Action: AMZN shares traded higher by 0.34% at $3,032.58 on the last check Tuesday.