"You're Just Disposable": Former Amazon Workers Speak Out | "Amazon Empire" | FRONTLINE PBS

"You're Just Disposable": Former Amazon Workers Speak Out | "Amazon Empire" | FRONTLINE PBS

In interviews with FRONTLINE for a new documentary, former Amazon employees who worked in
the company’s fulfillment centers describe a work environment in which they felt pressured to
pick and pack items at productivity rates they say are “unrealistic.”

Their stories echoed the more than 50 interviews FRONTLINE conducted with similar workers
across the country.

“We’re not treated as human beings, we’re not even treated as robots. We’re treated as part of the
data stream,” one former employee says in the above scene from "Amazon Empire: The Rise and
Reign of Jeff Bezos."

Also in this scene, Jeff Wilke, one of two CEOs under Bezos, strongly defends the company’s
treatment of workers and its commitment to safety. He stresses that the company has become
an industry leader in training its workforce for career advancement, and says its hourly workers --
for whom Amazon’s minimum wage is double the federal standard -- are offered the same
benefits Amazon executives receive.

“These are great jobs,” he says.


Published: Feb 14, 2020