Amazon is building a lab to evaluate its employees for COVID-19, the disease brought on by the brand-new coronavirus. It’s the latest effort by the company to safeguard workers who are growing progressively stressed as the virus spreads through Amazon storage facilities.
More than 50 Amazon-owned facilities have actually verified cases in the United States, according to information assembled by the Financial Times, a number of with several instances of the infection.
In a blog post announcing the effort, Amazon states that a lack of screening capability is making it tough to keep individuals safe and to get the economy back up and running. “Those who evaluate favorable might be quarantined and looked after, and everybody who tests unfavorable might return to the economy with confidence,” the company stated. “Regrettably, today we live in a world of scarcity where COVID-19 screening is greatly rationed.”
Amazon is reallocating its own professionals to construct the laboratory, and hopes to begin testing quickly. “A team of Amazonians with a range of abilities– from research study researchers and program managers to procurement specialists and software engineers– have moved from their normal day jobs onto a dedicated team to work on this initiative,” stated Amazon.
Amazon has actually stayed open throughout the pandemic, making it simpler for numerous people to safely follow shelter-at-home orders. To meet rising demand, Amazon announced plans to increase pay and work with an extra 100,000 employees back in March. Employees, however, say it’s not sufficient, as senators require answers
Today’s visits by our founder and CEO @JeffBezos to say thank you to Amazon satisfaction center and Whole Foods employees. We’re all incredibly happy with the countless our coworkers working on the front lines to get important goods to people all over during this crisis. pic.twitter.com/dygb345 wDM
— Amazon News (@amazonnews) April 9, 2020
Yesterday, Amazon launched a video showing Jeff Bezos lightheartedly visiting Amazon fulfillment centers and Whole Foods stores, joking around with workers who increasingly fear for their lives.
In spite of its goal to evaluate all workers, Amazon yields it may not be possible. “We are uncertain how far we will get in the pertinent timeframe, but we think it deserves attempting,” the business said.
Leave a Reply