Amazon serious injuries rise with warehouse robots

Internal documents revealed Amazon's use of robots in its warehouses resulted in a major increase in employee injuries, contradicting the company's public statements. 

Amazon's automated facilities reported higher serious injury rates compared to non-robotic warehouses, contradicting the company's claims that robots enhance safety, according to internal documents obtained by Reveal. In 2019, Amazon recorded 14,000 serious injuries, translating to a rate of 7.7 injuries per 100 employees, which was significantly higher than industry standards and a 33 percent increase from 2016.

Amazon's introduction of robots led to increased productivity demands, with workers facing quotas that escalated dramatically from approximately 100 items per hour to 400 in some cases. This heightened pressure was seen to contribute to repetitive motion injuries and accidents as employees rush to meet these targets. Reports indicated that injury rates spiked during peak periods like Prime Day and Cyber Monday.

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