How can a company that has pockets so deep, offer so little to its most vulnerable workers? “The union has called for strikes in six German fulfilment centers,” Carter continued. “The majority of our associates do not participate and we see no impact on customer orders. The fact that more than 8,000 of our over 13,000 permanent associates in Germany have been with us for more than 5 years proves that we are a fair employer.” It also said that “health authorities and government officials are confirming that we have the right measures in place to protect associates and customers.” Ver.di has criticized the company for refusing to lower its infamous product picking targets. The union said that wearing a face mask makes it harder for employees to breathe, which would slow down their work. The issues aren’t limited to productivity, however. “The main problem is the lack of transparency, meaning workers don’t know if there’s any problem in a fulfilment centre,” said André Scheer, trade union secretary at ver.di. “When colleagues disappear, are they ill or in quarantine?” “Nothing is more important than the safety of our teams. We have redeployed a large number of our data scientists, technologists, and operations employees to focus on COVID-19 and ensure the safety of our workforce, including thousands of individuals on our health and safety teams. An in-depth analysis of sites is one of many tools that help us evaluate the full picture in our buildings related to COVID-19. In addition to a deep dive by a site, other tools include social distancing audits and having an epidemiologist review available data to ensure our safety measures are effectively protecting workers from exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace.” Zoox will also continue to operate as a standalone business, retaining its CEO and CTO and current staff. According to the Financial Times, the deal is worth around $1.2 billion. However, despite Zoox managing to raise around $950 million of venture capitalist funding as of October last year, it was forced to layoff 120 employees — around 10% of its total headcount in — April. This is after it hired Aicha Evans from Intel to help push the company towards commercialization last January. Lead image credit: DPA
