Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on Thursday instructed traders the e-commerce big wants a higher “vision” for its staff, simply days after an effort to create the corporate’s first labor union was defeated.
Defending Amazon’s therapy of staff, Bezos laid out a new purpose for the corporate to be “Earth’s best employer and Earth’s safest place to work,” in his remaining letter as chief govt.
“Despite what we’ve accomplished, it’s clear to me that we need a better vision for our employees’ success,” Bezos stated in the letter.
Bezos will stay chairman of the board after he resigns as chief govt later this yr, handing management of Amazon to Andy Jassy of the corporate’s cloud companies unit.
A contentious unionization drive at an Amazon warehouse in the southern US state of Alabama failed final week as a vote depend confirmed a large majority of staff rejecting the transfer.
“Bezos’s admission today demonstrates that what we have been saying about workplace conditions is correct,” stated Stuart Appelbaum, president of the union that vied to characterize Amazon staff.
“But his admission won’t change anything, workers need a union –- not just another Amazon public relations effort in damage control.”
Bezos contended that he took no consolation in the unionization failure.
“While the voting results were lopsided and our direct relationship with employees is strong, it’s clear to me that we need a better vision for how we create value for employees,” Bezos stated in the letter.
He rejected information stories that he stated unfairly painting Amazon staff as “desperate souls and treated as robots.”
“That’s not accurate,” Bezos stated.
“They’re sophisticated and thoughtful people who have options for where to work.”
Unions and political leaders have argued that Amazon staff face fixed stress and monitoring, with little job safety, highlighting the necessity for collective bargaining.
Amazon has argued that the majority of its staff don’t need or want a union and that it already offers greater than most different employers, with a minimal $15 hourly wage and different advantages.
The Seattle-based know-how and e-commerce powerhouse employed 500,000 folks final yr and now immediately employs 1.3 million folks globally, in keeping with Bezos.
Amazon plans to speculate greater than $300 million this yr into office security initiatives, and roll out a software program program that figures out how you can rotate staff between jobs to scale back probabilities of accidents brought on by repetitive motions.
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