Amazon Warehouse Employees Take Smoke Breaks In Cages

Amazon has built two outdoor cages at its new fulfillment center in Baltimore for employees who want to take a smoke break or step outside for a breath of fresh air during their shifts.

The 30-foot-long cages are meant to prevent employee theft from the warehouses during trips outside, the Baltimore Business Journal's Kevin Litten reports.

The structures sit adjacent to the massive 1-million-square-foot warehouse and have a roof to protect against inclement weather.

"They are secured with floor-to-ceiling black fencing, making it impossible for anyone inside it to pass objects to anyone standing in the parking lot, but possible for employees to go outside for a cigarette," Litten writes.

Duke Reality Corp., the company that built the warehouse, described Amazon's warehouse security as "more stringent than airport screenings," according to Litten.

"The company is highly focused on maintaining strict inventory control," Litten writes. "But the company also wants its employees to be happy, so it includes features such as the smoking cages in warehouses along with large break rooms, skylights and windows that would otherwise be unnecessary in the sprawling building on Broening Highway in Baltimore.

We reached out to Amazon for comment and will update when we hear back.

Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.