An Amazon Warehouse Employee Died During the Retailer’s $12 Billion Prime Day Event

An Amazon warehouse employee died on the job during the e-commerce giant’s big two-day, $12 billion Prime Day event. An unnamed male worker passed away at Amazon’s EWR9 facility in Carteret, N.J. on July 12, Amazon confirmed. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said in a statement emailed to FN that it was “aware of the tragic incident” and opened an inspection on July 14 and is currently investigating. OSHA has six months to complete to conduct its inspection and release its findings, the spokesperson wrote. Additional details about how the worker died were not available. In a statement emailed to FN, Amazon spokesperson Sam Stephenson said: “We’re deeply saddened by the passing of one of our colleagues and offer our condolences to his family and friends during this difficult time. We’ve contacted his family to offer support and will provide counseling resources to employees needing additional care.” Amazon has repeatedly come under fire over its treatment of warehouse and delivery employees. Critics have increasingly zeroed in on Amazon’s use of productivity quotas, arguing its relentless focus on speed leads to on-the-job injuries at warehouses. Multiple studies by the Strategic Organizing Center (SOC), a coalition of labor unions, attributed high injury rates

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