The article in the url below details some of the downsides to Amazon's ruthless approach to business. In particular, it focuses on the accidents caused by the drivers who deliver packages for Amazon (although they usually work for contractors):
"In its relentless push for e-commerce dominance, Amazon has built a huge logistics operation in recent years to get more goods to customers' homes in less and less time. As it moves to reduce its reliance on legacy carriers like United Parcel Service, the retailer has created a network of contractors across the country that allows the company to expand and shrink the delivery force as needed, while avoiding the costs of taking on permanent employees. But Amazon's promise of speedy delivery has come at a price, one largely hidden from public view. An investigation by ProPublica identified more than 60 accidents since June 2015 involving Amazon delivery contractors that resulted in serious injuries, including 10 deaths. That tally is most likely a fraction of the accidents that have occurred: Many people don't sue, and those who do can't always tell when Amazon is involved."
While it wants none of the legal responsibility for such accidents, however, Amazon wants all of the control:
"Even as Amazon argues that it bears no legal responsibility for the human toll, it maintains a tight grip on how the delivery drivers do their jobs. Their paychecks are signed by hundreds of companies, but often Amazon directs, through an app, the order of the deliveries and the route to each destination. Amazon software tracks drivers' progress, and a dispatcher in an Amazon warehouse can call them if they fall behind schedule. Amazon requires that 999 out of 1,000 deliveries arrive on time, according to work orders obtained from contractors with drivers in eight states."
I'll just repeat that for emphasis:
"Amazon requires that 999 out of 1,000 deliveries arrive on time."
But, any mistakes are deemed to be the responsibility of the companies that contract out this work from Amazon:
"Amazon has repeatedly said in court that it is not responsible for the actions of its contractors, citing agreements that require them, as one puts it, to 'defend, indemnify and hold harmless Amazon.' Just last week, an operations manager for Amazon testified in Chicago that it signs such agreements with all its 'delivery service partners,' who assume the liability and the responsibility for legal costs. The agreements cover 'all loss or damage to personal property or bodily harm including death.'"
And, if you have read anything about the way that Jeff Bezos does business, you will not be surprised to know that:
"Amazon vigilantly enforces the terms of those agreements. In New Jersey, when a contractor's insurer failed to pay Amazon's legal bills in a suit brought by a physician injured in a crash, Amazon sued to force the insurer to pick up the tab."
The article goes on and on, listing examples of how Amazon places severe constraints on its partner companies, but will not accept responsibility for any of the consequences of its business model. This approach is reminiscent of the argument Nike used in the 1990s to combat allegations of sweatshop abuse of workers—legally, you see their point but, behaviorally, you know the firm's constraints are shaping the resulting outcomes. Nike essentially said that the workers are not Nike workers (they work for contractors) and, all Nike does is stipulate its expectations in a contract, which the contractors willingly sign. Nike used to put very strict schedules on the delivery of its shoes, occasionally make last-minute changes to the designs, and then shrug their shoulders when it turned out that the contractors were requiring employees to work too much overtime (against Nike's contractual obligations) in order to meet the new deadline. Apple has been accused of similar negligence in its relationship with Foxconn. The exact same framing is being used by Amazon today. Whether we have learned to respond any differently, however, is another story.
Take care
David
David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2020
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When Fast, Free Shipping Delivers Heartbreak
When Fast, Free Shipping Delivers Heartbreak
By Patricia Callahan
September 5, 2019
The New York Times
Late Edition – Final
A1, A18
