Amazon warehouse workers are seriously injured at twice the rate of employees at similar warehouses, study finds
- The serious injury rate among Amazon warehouse workers is more than double the rate at other warehouses.
- The report from the Strategic Organizing Center found Amazon worker injuries are becoming more frequent and severe.
The rate of worker injuries at Amazon warehouses was 70% higher compared to other warehouse companies in 2022, according to a recent report from union coalition Strategic Organizing Center.
The report also found that the rate of "serious" injuries was more than double the serious-injury rate at other warehouses.
The SOC said these findings reflect a growing trend at Amazon facilities compared to other warehouses: that Amazon warehouse worker injuries are becoming more frequent and severe, and Amazon facilities are growing more dangerous.
The study pulled its findings from federal data submitted from 2017 to 2022 by Amazon to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. In 2022, the serious-injury rate among Amazon warehouse workers was 6.6 serious injuries for every 100 workers — more than double the rate at other warehouses, which was 3.2 serious injuries for every 100 workers.
The SOC defined "serious injuries" as injuries that left workers unable to perform their regular job functions, or they were forced to miss work entirely.
Amazon was responsible for 53% of serious injuries in the warehouse industry from 2022, despite Amazon employing 36% of US warehouse workers, according to the SOC report.
Amazon's serious-injury rate dipped slightly in 2022 from the rate in 2021, which had a 6.9 serious injury rate per every 100 workers, per the SOC report. But both years reflected an increase in serious injuries compared to 2020, when Amazon's serious injury rate was 5.9 for every 100 workers.
"The safety and health of our employees is, and always will be, our top priority, and any claim otherwise is inaccurate. We're proud of the progress made by our team and we'll continue working hard together to keep getting better every day." Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in an emailed statement to Insider. She said the SOC findings "paint an inaccurate picture."
Nantel said that Amazon's own safety report showed that since 2019, the recordable injury rate across Amazon dropped more than 23% and the lost time injury rate dropped more than 53%. Amazon said the company prefers to analyze these two metrics because they encapsulate the employee injuries "that are most severe and actually require time away" from work.
Amazon said the SOC's "serious injury rate" metric was "misleading." The company said this metric captures any injury — including injuries that are serious and injuries that are relatively minor, such as a strain — that could lead an employee to take time off from work or switch to working in a different role.
Within the last few years, Amazon has come under increased scrutiny for its injury rate. Just a few months before this report, Amazon was fined $60,269 for warehouse conditions that led to high rates of back and joint injuries among workers, Insider previously reported. At the end of 2022, Amazon was hit with 14 citations from federal regulators for failing to record workers' injuries.
Faced with a constant pressure to quickly meet performance targets, Amazon workers are also at an increased risk for injuries, according to Insider's Warehouse Nation series. Some Amazon workers who have endured workplace injuries have found them to be debilitating amid working in fast-paced conditions, Insider's Katherine Long reported.
In an emailed statement to Insider, Amazon disputed the claim that Amazon employees are expected to meet "quotas." The company said, "like any other business," they have "performance expectations" for their teams.
"If there's ever a concern about a manager misusing productivity guidance or asking employees to prioritize productivity over safety, we immediately investigate and take appropriate action. Safety is our number one priority at Amazon," the statement read.