Expendable: a solution to Amazon
Warehouse efficiency

Amazon is in a unique position.

Amazon warehouse pays its workers higher than the local average, and so workers have no other choice but to work here. It's better than the alternative. As a result, Amazon Warehouse has a near unlimited influx of workers. This is the story of Amazon's work culture, why it's too good to be true, and a potential solution.

Is Amazon working towards a better work environment?

In 2021, Jeff Bezos committed himself to “Become the world's best employer and Earth’s safest place to work.” In 2024, independent sources reported that Amazon has not lived up to their promises, and Amazon Warehouse injury rates are still double that of other warehouses. (Failure to Deliver: Amazon Falls Short on Safety)

Inhumane conditions

“Nothing we do is more important than hiring and developing people. At the end of the day, you bet on people, not strategies.” -Lawrence Bossiy. Amazon Warehouse is an exception to the rule. Amazon Warehouse does not have a culture, as employees are replaced too fast to get to know each other. TOT, time off task, is one of the key metrics used to determine if a worker should be fired. Culture is discouraged here. It's no secret that warehouse work conditions within Amazon are dismal, but what's not talked about is why.

Why the high churn?

The machine-gun hiring and firing is terrible for the employees but great for the company. Employees can be consistently high performing but they can be fired for one bad shift, but as soon as they are fired, they are replaced with a new eager worker who isn’t burned out yet. This is a vicious cycle that is incredibly efficient since it ensures that Amazon never pays the wage of an employee who isn’t 100% efficient. An unlimited hiring pool enables Amazon Warehouse to purposefully run an unsustainable working pace. Churn rates in Amazon warehouses are extraordinarily high, 100-150%. Warehouse workers are worked at an unsustainable pace and when they burn out, they are fired. This model takes full advantage of the unlimited influx of new workers, and turns this resource into a super efficient machine. As a result, injuries like sprains, strains, and tears are twice as high as the industry average and five times higher than the national average. This hiring model leaves no room for humanity, culture, or long term employment, but it sure does save a lot of money on raises. How do we fix this system?

Key constraints:

There’s got to be a better way of doing this. Amazon is completely trading off employee wellbeing for efficiency, treating employees as equipment. With such an abusive business model, it's critical for Amazon to be upfront and honest about what its employees are getting into.

1. No extra spending
2. No compromise on efficiency.

I will be assuming these constraints when proposing my solution.

My Solution

To fix Amazon Warehouse's hiring and retention plan, I propose a two week on two week off schedule. Utilizing the available pool of workers, we can give them time to rest and recover while still enforcing strict working pace. This compromise will reduce injury at no cost to efficiency.

In my solution, workers will work on and off weeks in order to reduce burnout and risk of injury. Switching out workers provides multiple benefits:

• No extra money spent
• Maximum efficiency
• No more rapid firing: part time employees logically receive less raises, allowing for Amazon to still save money on tenure while workers benefit from having a more stable job.

What's still on the table:

While this solution addresses many of the problems with the current system, it still does not bring a culture to this workplace.