Back
Amazon discloses virus count: 19,000, or 1.44%, of U.S. frontline workforce
Oct 2, 2020
FILE PHOTO: An Amazon worker delivers packages amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Denver, Colorado, U.S. Picture taken April 22, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/
(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O on Thursday said more than 19,000 of its U.S. frontline workers contracted the coronavirus this year, or 1.44% of the total, a disclosure long sought by labor advocates that had criticized its pandemic response.
Amazon said the number is far lower than expected, given the infection rate for the general population. The company, which encouraged other companies to report comparable figures, expects it will ramp to testing 50,000 U.S. employees per day for the virus by November.
The online retailer’s news offered a rare look at the disease’s impact on a major U.S. employer, under pressure from elected officials and unions for months to close warehouses with outbreaks. Amazon instead has kept facilities open to meet a surge in demand from shoppers stuck at home, adding temperature checks, social distancing software and other procedures to keep staff safe.
Out of 1,372,000 front-lone employees for Amazon and its subsidiary Whole Foods Market, 19,816 tested positive for the virus or were presumed to have COVID-19 between March 1 and Sept. 19, the company said. By contrast, 33,952 would have gotten the virus had Amazon’s rate of infection been as bad as that of the general populace, it said.
0Shares
0Comments
0Favorites
0Likes
Say something to impress...
Loading...
Comments
Hot

No content at this moment.

Relevant people
Reuters
45105 Followers
Official news from Reuters
Related