An undercover worker claimed that the employers were threatened with disciplinaries if they called in sick or spent too long in the toilet.
In the latest Channel 5 documentary, titled Amazon: How Do They Really Do It?, viewers followed the story of how the company came to be, its beginnings, archive footage of owner talking about its future, and its journey to becoming one of the world’s biggest brands.
In recent years, several workers have come forward and shared their harrowing experiences during their time at the warehouse, which resulted in sacked employees protesting ‘inhumane conditions.’
Author James Bloodworth worked undercover in the Staffordshire branch in 2018, and in the documentary he claimed that the team ‘weren’t treated like human beings.’.
‘If you had a day off sick, you had a disciplinary,’ James said during the documentary.
‘And if you received six of these you would lose your job. You were treated like a piece of data on a spreadsheet.’
In the documentary, Amazon denied Bloodworth’s claims and said his accusations were ‘sensationalised.’
An Amazon spokesperson told Metro.co.uk: ‘James Bloodworth worked at Amazon for only nine days almost five years ago, with the sole purpose to create negative content for his book.
‘This is a tired narrative created to sell a book and despite his negative experience and views on the company, Mr Bloodworth found no issues selling the book on Amazon.’
Elsewhere, sacked worker Chris also echoed Bloodworth’s statement and said it took ’10 minutes’ to go to the toilet and the canteen.
‘I tell the workers they got 15 minutes, but they don’t have 15 minutes,’ he said.
In December 2021, the after a warehouse collapsed during a tornado in Illinois Chicago, brought to light the company’s working conditions.
The retail giant has also been repeatedly criticised for the high rate of injuries in its warehouses with an alleged rate of serious injuries than at other warehouses, according to a report.
The multinational company – which was set up in 2004 – was originally founded in Bellevue, Washington, in the United States, as an online book retailer.
Bezos (then a former Wall Street Executive) reportedly chose the name because its first letter began the alphabet and for its connection to the huge South American river.
Amazon: How Do They Really Do It? is available to watch on My 5.
