Amazon CEO Jassy says he wants to improve warehouse safety

In his very first letter to Amazon shareholders, CEO Andy Jassy offered a defense of the earnings and benefits the business gives its storage facility workers while also vowing to improve injury rates inside the facilitiesBy Associated PressApril 14, 2022, 4:44 PM – 3 min readShare to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleIn his very first letter to Amazon shareholders, CEO Andy Jassy used a defense of the salaries and benefits the company offers its warehouse employees while also swearing to enhance injury rates inside the facilities.Jassy, who took over from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as CEO last July, wrote the business has actually researched and created a list of the top 100 “worker experience pain points” and is working to fix them.”Were also passionate about further enhancing safety in our satisfaction network, with a concentrate on minimizing strains, sprains, falls, and repetitive stress injuries,” he wrote.The company is set to face 2 investor votes next month tied to workplace injuries. One requires an independent audit into the working conditions and treatment of its storage facility employees, while the other seeks to examine whether Amazons policies give rise to racial and gender disparities in its work environment injury rates. The seller had actually refuted both proposals, but U.S. securities regulators disagreed and allowed the resolutions to stand.A report launched today by Strategic Organizing Center, a coalition of 4 labor unions, found Amazon utilized 33% of all U.S. warehouse employees in 2021, however was responsible for 49% of all injuries in the market. Jassy pushed back on the report during an interview with CNBC Thursday morning, saying it was not accurate.He further composed in the investor letter that the businesss injury rates can sometimes be misunderstood, stating it has operations jobs that fit both the “warehousing” and “carrier and shipment” categories.Offering his own information, Jassy acknowledged the businesss storage facility injury rates “were a little greater than the average” compared to other storage facilities, however lower than average compared to Amazons courier and shipment peers.”This makes us about average relative to peers, but we do not seek to be typical,” Jassy composed. “We desire to be best in class.”Union organizers in Staten Island, New York and Bessemer, Alabama have typically rallied employees while indicating the businesss injury rates. The nascent Amazon Labor Union, which won the union election in Staten Island previously this month, is now looking for to work out with the seller for a union agreement. But Amazon has actually rebuffed those efforts and is seeking to re-do the election.Jassy didnt point out the union push in his letter, however stated the business uses “robust” benefits, and has increased hourly wages in the previous couple of years. When asked about the union win during the interview, he stated it was staff members choice whether they desire to sign up with a union but thinks theyre better off refraining from doing so.He argued unions might decrease change, and thinks workers are better off having direct relationships with their managers, an argument the business has actually made in the lead-up to the union elections to convince its employees not to unionize.