But behind the scenes, Amazon has been closely following the spread of the virus inside at least one warehouse, according to an internal memo seen by CNN Business. And your own data may raise new concerns about the infection rate at your facility.
The note, which appears to be current as of May 18, further breaks down the departments, shifts and counties of residence for the 45 confirmed workers who have coronaviruses. The detailed details highlight how closely the company controls the cases, despite choosing not to disclose this information to workers.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our equipment. We have redistributed a large number of our data scientists, technologists, and operations employees to focus on Covid-19 and ensure the safety of our workforce, including thousands of people, in our health and security teams, “Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Cheeseman said in a statement to CNN Business. Cheeseman added that “an in-depth analysis of the sites is one of many tools that help us assess the full image in our Covid-19 related buildings.”
Amazon, which did not deny the existence of the note, did not respond to a question about whether it is collecting similar information on its other sites.
“We use a variety of data to closely monitor the security of our buildings and there is strong evidence that our employees are not proliferating the virus at work; what we see generally is that the overall rate of infection and the increase or decrease of total cases is highly correlated with the overall infection rate in the community, “Cheeseman said in the statement. “During the Covid-19 months, thousands of employees and partners have worked at our Shakopee site and we strongly believe that people are not spreading the virus at work because of the robust security measures we have put in place.”
According to the note, Amazon is “regularly engaged” with the Minnesota Department of Health and the corresponding county health departments regarding positive cases. But the note also shows a significant desire by workers for more information. In the first two weeks of May, according to the memo, the Shakopee facility saw “64% of security comments demanding transparency in details about infected Covid [Amazon Associates], requesting shift information, total counts and the most updated information. ”
“This memo shows [Amazon] He knows the details, but they have been keeping it from us, “said Hibaq Mohamed, who has worked as an Amazon associate for more than three and a half years at the Shakopee facility and has advocated for increased security precautions.” does not want to tell us, but this virus is deadly. ”
William Stolz, an Amazon associate at the Shakopee facility, told CNN Business that “the data coming out really supports everything workers have been saying for the past few months about the severity of the spread on Amazon.”
Amazon has seen increasing demand during the pandemic as people stay home and consider their products and services as a lifesaver for essential household items. But it has also come under increased scrutiny over workplace conditions at its 110 distribution centers in North America with 400,000 employees.
Amazon has said it shares with employees when there is a confirmed case where they work, but workers have said the communication has been inconsistent. For example, an Amazon spokesperson previously confirmed to CNN Business that while it once included a number of confirmed cases when notifying workers, it stopped doing so because it doesn’t believe the number is useful.
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