Amazon Prime Day Spikes Worker Injuries, Senate Reveals

Amazon Prime Day has reportedly become a "major" cause of injuries to workers, according to the preliminary results of the Senate's yearlong investigation.

The e-commerce giant provided the committee with the total injury rate from Prime Day 2019, which helped the Senate draw initial conclusions.

Over 700 Amazon Workers in the UK Walked Out Over Pay Increase Dispute — Ronny Hartmann/ Getty Images

Amazon Prime Day Injures Nearly Half of Warehouse Workers

The data, which was disclosed to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, revealed that 45 injuries per 100 workers were recorded during the Prime Day 2019. The rate accounted for nearly half of the company's warehouse workers during the big sale event.

"Amazon continues to treat its workers as disposable and with complete contempt for their safety and wellbeing," said Sen. Bernie Sanders. He also emphasized that the situation is unacceptable and that the company has to make changes.

The report unveiled that Amazon warehouses are understaffed during its peak shopping seasons. This includes Prime Day, Black Friday, and the holiday season, wherein customers are looking forward to big discounts.

Amazon Warehouse Injuries Caused by Understaffing

During the peak shopping seasons, the employees are forced to cover an increased volume of labor without any additional support. Amazon confirmed that it has failed to meet its hiring target for the 2021 Prime Day event.

Amazon defended the accusations and stated that the company has made significant improvements over the years to prevent increased injuries. The company also refuted the claim that it was understaffed during busy shopping periods.

"It draws sweeping and inaccurate conclusions based on unverified anecdotes, and it misrepresents documents that are several years old and contained factual errors and faulty analysis," said Kelly Nantel, Amazon spokesperson.

The e-commerce giant has previously faced scrutiny over its workplace injury rates. The alleged treatments for warehouse and delivery workers were also questioned before by federal regulators.