Nearly half of the employees were injured? Amazon warehouses are the target of public criticism

Nearly half of Amazon's U.S. employees report being injured in their fast-paced warehouse jobs , according to a new survey, with some reporting having to take unpaid time off to recover.

According to a national study by the University of Illinois at Chicago's Center for Urban Economic Development , 41% of the e-commerce giant's employees have been injured on the job .

Of those workers, 69% had to take unpaid leave in the past month to recover from pain or exhaustion, the researchers found.

According to the survey, Amazon workers self-reported injury rates at nearly six times the rate found by some previous reports.

"Survey data suggest that working practices in Amazon warehouses — including heavy monitoring and a fast pace of work — are taking a significant toll on workers' physical and mental health , " the agency 's research director Beth Gutelius said in a statement.

The survey was conducted between April and August of this year and included more than 1,400 current Amazon employees at 451 facilities in 42 states.

The respondents answered nearly 100 questions covering a range of topics, including work intensity, workplace health and safety protocols, and Amazon's surveillance practices.

Amazon uses electronic systems to track warehouse workers' productivity and uses specialized software, handheld scanning devices and other tools to track how long it takes employees to complete their duties .

The system increases job stress for some workers, making them more likely to get injured or experience burnout, according to the survey, the researchers said.

Previously collected data also showed that the injury rate at Amazon warehouses was higher than the industry average. According to data submitted by Amazon to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, in 2022, a report found that 6.6 out of every 100 Amazon employees were seriously injured. This figure is more than twice the injury rate of all non-Amazon warehouses.

However, an Amazon spokesperson quickly issued a statement refuting this claim.

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