Amazon workers perform their jobs inside an Amazon fulfillment center on Cyber Monday in Robbinsville, New Jersey, U.S., December 2, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo
Jeffrey Dastin
Reuters
Amazon.com Inc on Thursday said more than 19,000 of its U.S. frontline workers contracted the coronavirus this year, or 1.44% of the total, a disclosure sought by labor advocates who have criticized the COVID-19 response of the world’s largest online retailer.
Some staff, elected officials and unions in recent months have said Amazon put employees’ health at risk by keeping warehouses open during the pandemic. Amazon said its rate of infection was 42% lower than expected when considering the virus’ spread in the general population.
Amazon in a blog post here encouraged other businesses to report comparable figures. It said it will expand virus testing to 50,000 U.S. employees per day by November through internally built capacity. Read more >>