Senate report alleges Amazon rejected warehouse safety recommendations due to productivity concerns

AP Business Writer

A U.S. Senate committee says at least two internal Amazon studies have found a relationship between worker speed and injuries in the online retailer’s warehouses. A 160-page report issued Sunday night by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions alleges Amazon rejected many of the studies’ safety recommendations out of concern the proposed changes might reduce productivity. The report was the final product of a probe into Amazon’s warehouse safety practices that U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders initiated last year. Amazon responded Monday by saying the report is “wrong on the facts and features selective, outdated information that lacks context and isn’t grounded in reality.”