Amazon Says it Could Fire Warehouse Workers Who Do This

E-commerce giant Amazon, which has been under major pressure in recent weeks to offer more protection to its workers, is taking measures to make sure its employees are practicing social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.

According to a CNBC report, the company is tracking warehouse workers and says it could fire them for violating social distancing rules. The company mandates that employees stay 6 feet away from their colleagues in order to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Workers will receive a warning if they fail to follow the rules and if caught a second time, they may get fired.

An Amazon spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that employees who “intentionally violate” social distancing rules will be given two warnings and on the second documented offense, “termination could occur.”

“We’ve had some instances of employees intentionally violating our clear guidelines on social distancing at our sites, which endangers both the individual and their colleagues,” the spokesperson commented. “We are taking intense measures to ensure the health and safety of employees across our sites who are performing an essential role for their communities during this crisis.”

In a blog post published last week, Dave Clark, who runs Amazon’s retail operations, said the company would use its “top machine learning technologists” to detect areas where it can improve social distancing in its facilities by relying on internal camera systems.

Some Amazon employees spoke to CNBC and said the efforts aren’t enough to keep them safe.

“We do not feel safe in our building anymore. I’m frustrated with it,” a worker at an Indiana warehouse said. “If they’re having to go to all these great lengths to keep us safe, I feel like they need to shut down the building for two weeks so they can actually get cleaned.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and have not been compensated for this article.