Amazon warehouse workers reveal their horror stories: Staff claim robots get better treatment, ex-con says it's worse than prison and employee challenges Bezos to complete a shift there
- Employees at JFK8 Amazon warehouse on Staten Island told of the conditions
- Workers claimed Amazon bosses 'care more about robots than the employees'
- A visually impaired sorter said a manager asked her 'are you sure you can't see?'
- One ex-worker said he quit after three days because it reminded him of prison
- He also said 'Mr Bezos couldn't do a full shift at that place as an undercover boss'
Amazon warehouse workers have revealed the shocking conditions they endure including one ex-con who said he preferred prison.
A catalog of damning testimonies from those who pack items to be shipped across New York and the surrounding area reveals the working conditions of employees who are monitored by computers to keep track their productivity.
Employees in the New York City warehouse, called JFK8, on Staten Island claimed Amazon bosses 'care more about robots than about the employees'. They suggested the company's founder eff Bezos wold not be able to complete one of their shifts.
One former worker even said he quit after just three days because working at the sprawling facility reminded him of prison and he would 'rather go back to a state correctional facility'.
Other employees have complained about getting injured at work and that despite a report about safety, not much has changed in the warehouse except video cameras have been installed.
![A woman working at a packing station. Some employees have complained of having their productivity constantly monitored by computers](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/06/11/24388038-7973673-image-a-38_1580988438972.jpg)
A woman working at a packing station. Some employees have complained of having their productivity constantly monitored by computers
Jimpat Lacewell, who started working at Amazon in Staten Island in November, quit after three days because it reminded him of prison.
He also said CEO and founder Jeff Bezos could not finish a shift at the warehouse if he took part in the Undercover Boss reality TV show.
Lacewell told the Guardian: 'I would rather go back to a state correctional facility and work for 18 cents an hour than do that job.
'I'm sure Mr Bezos couldn't do a full shift at that place as an undercover boss.'
Rita Cummings, who works as a sorter on the outbound ship dock in three 12-hour shifts every week, has to scan a 1,800 Amazon packages an hour, which works out at around 30 every minute.
She claimed a manager asked if she was 'sure you can't see?' and tried to place her in unsuitable job tasks, despite her visual impairment disability meaning she can only perform certain roles.
She told the Guardian: 'I had a manager ask me: are you sure you can't see?
'There are days I say I'm just at the mercy of God. There has been no real change. There are still injuries. They were saying the report [into safety] is not accurate, but it's just a way for them to avoid responsibility.'
![The warehouse, which opened in 2018, sits at the corner of Gulf and Bloomfield Avenues inside the Matrix Global Logistics Park in Staten Island, New York](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/06/11/24388576-7973673-image-a-39_1580988453311.jpg)
The warehouse, which opened in 2018, sits at the corner of Gulf and Bloomfield Avenues inside the Matrix Global Logistics Park in Staten Island, New York
![A man works at a conveyor belt at the Staten Island warehouse in a file image. One employee claimed Amazon bosses 'care more about robots than the employees'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/06/13/24388584-7973673-A_man_works_at_a_conveyor_belt_at_the_Staten_Island_warehouse_in-a-1_1580995299602.jpg)
A man works at a conveyor belt at the Staten Island warehouse in a file image. One employee claimed Amazon bosses 'care more about robots than the employees'
![Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was challenged by a former employee to work a shift at the Staten Island warehouse](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/06/13/24389078-7973673-Amazon_founder_Jeff_Bezos_was_challenged_by_a_former_employee_to-a-2_1580995299878.jpg)
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was challenged by a former employee to work a shift at the Staten Island warehouse
Another packer at the Amazon JFK8 warehouse, Raymond Velez, worked from October 2018 to November last year.
He said he had to pack at a rate of 700 items per hour and that his colleagues were regularly fired for missing rates.
Velez told the Guardian: 'That's all they care about. They don't care about their employees.
'They care more about the robots than they care about the employees. I've been to Amcare [the company's on-site medical unit] a couple times for not feeling well, and you'd get an aspirin and sent back to work.'
Stower Ilya Geller claimed workers were being watched by surveillance cameras so managers can monitor their productivity rates.
He told the Guardian: 'You're being tracked by a computer the entire time you're there. You don't get reported or written up by managers. You get written up by an algorithm.
'You're keenly aware there is an algorithm keeping track of you, making sure you keep going as fast as you can, because if there is too much time lapsed between items, the computer will know this, will write you up, and you will get fired.'
Some warehouse workers complained of a lack of safety in that some violations were 'brushed aside'.
![A man working at a distribution station in Staten Island. One former employee said he would rather go back to prison than face another shift at the New York warehouse](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/06/12/24388044-7973673-A_man_working_at_a_distribution_station_in_Staten_Island_One_for-a-52_1580991574527.jpg)
A man working at a distribution station in Staten Island. One former employee said he would rather go back to prison than face another shift at the New York warehouse
An Amazon spokesperson said in a statement: 'Like most companies, we have performance expectations for every Amazonian and we measure actual performance against those expectations.'
And on safety, the company said: 'Any effort to paint our workplaces as unsafe based on the number of injury recordings is misleading given the size of our workforce.
'While many companies under-record safety incidents in order to keep their rates low, Amazon does the opposite – we take an aggressive stance on recording injuries no matter how big or small.
'We believe so strongly in the environment provided for fulfillment center employees, including our safety culture, that we offer public tours where anyone can come see for themselves one of our sites and its working conditions first-hand.'
Last August, Bezos was slammed on social media for throwing a multi-million dollar concert for certain head office employees not long after warehouse workers went on strike over pay and conditions.
He was spotted partying with celebrities such as Katy Perry and Lil Nas X backstage at Amazon's Post-Prime Day concert for employees in Seattle.
Most watched News videos
- Moscow woman reports live: 'Where are we supposed to run to?'
- MPs in Commons react to plan to means test winter fuel payments
- Hairbrush and women's clothes found in tunnel where hostages died
- Audi fails to stop after hitting a pensioner in Keighley, Yorkshire
- Moment of 'Ukrainian kamikaze drone attack' on Moscow building
- Germany implements temporary border controls to combat migration
- Knife-wielding break-in suspect chases local after being confronted
- Princess Sofia shows baby bump at Parliament State Opening
- Princess Kate mirrors the late Queen driving in candid recovery video
- Ukrainian sniper fires at two Russian soldiers with grenade launchers
- Moment 'drunk' Brit and his wife are hauled off Ryanair flight
- Tory MP Robert Jenrick dodges Tory leadership 'dirty tricks' query