Amazon paying employees to tweet nice things about warehouse working conditions
After a series of horror stories about Amazon workers peeing into bottles to avoid missing their targets, a number of accounts popped up on Twitter praising the company.
TechCrunch discovered that all the accounts had Amazon’s smile logo as backgrounds, identical structures to their bios and the title ‘FC Ambassador’ in their name, followed by a cardboard box emoji. Each account also promoted a link to schedule a tour at one of Amazon’'s North American fulfillment centers.
Working conditions at my JAX2 FC are great. Temp controlled warehouse, safety is the priority and we just want to get your packages out on time.
— Leo - Amazon FC Ambassador 📦 (@AmazonFCLeo) August 23, 2018
The accounts frequently appeared to defend the online retail giant in response to random Twitter users criticizing its poor pay and working conditions. Amazon has confirmed to Business Insider that the FC ambassadors were real people, being paid to spread the firm’s message.
“FC ambassadors are employees who have experience working in our fulfillment centers. The most important thing is that they’ve been here long enough to honestly share the facts based on personal experience,” the company’s spokesman said.
Did you know that Amazon pays warehouse workers 30% more than other retailers? I feel proud to work for Amazon - they've taken good care of me. Much better than some of my previous employers.
— Shaye - Amazon FC Ambassador 📦 (@AmazonFCShaye) August 21, 2018
According to the official, it is “important that we do a good job of educating people about the actual environment inside our fulfillment centers, and the FC ambassador program is a big part of that along with the fulfillment center tours we provide.”
The e-commerce giant has been frequently criticized for its poor wages and working conditions at the warehouses. Earlier this year, an undercover journalist in the UK discovered that workers “picking” products for delivery did not go to the toilet, as it was too far away. Some employees at the company peed into bottles to avoid missing their targets.
Hello! Amazon does pay their employees minimum wage - any less would be illegal 😀 One thing that often gets overlooked are the employee benefits that Amazon provides for all employees - Health insurance, 401K, career/financial counseling.
— Phil - Amazon FC Ambassador 📦 (@AmazonFCPhil) August 10, 2018
The survey, carried out by campaign platform Organise, revealed that employees began to feel more anxious after joining Amazon. The internet retailer reportedly punished workers for being sick. One worker said she was ill while pregnant, and was still handed warning points.
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