Ex-Amazon workers talk of 'horrendous' conditions

Hundreds of employees of online store Amazon on zero hours contracts are subjected to a regime described as "horrendous" and "exhausting", it is claimed.

[TheEnderman]

You know it's rough when coal miners hate working there.

[takeiteasy]

After I worked for Amazon I closed my account and never look back.
I worked there trust me it’s proper slavery.

[fewerbeansplease]

I am frankly disgusted with people who insist that anyone should be "thankful" they have a job. This is just a license for employers to treat their employees badly. Everyone is equal and should be accorded the respect they deserve.

[adamr]

after watching this, i won't buy from amazon again.The CEO is a billionaire, yet can't afford to keep employees happy with decent good pay.More people ought to join in on this, not buying from amazon, and shut down the company.

[jonsimon]

I always get very suspicious when any company or group says "We are proud to....". Working for Amazon seems like being in a prison camp rather than a workplace.

[essiemebarradas]

They treat ppl like robots everywhere even in Europe its a horrible company to work for

[shanahaim]

I worked there for one day. I was screamed at military style in my face by a grown man. I’m a 5’5 woman. I was told to climb in to the bin and push the rubbish down on my first day while the rest of the warehouse laughed at me. They do it on purpose they are vile.

[kahanasam]

Totally sick of Amazon...and I will never spend another penny on Amazon...and I am dumping Facebook....too intrusive.

[Paul-]

I simply refuse to buy anything from Amazon.

[darrenirwin]

Boycott Amazon. Let small businesses that employ locals and care about their community survive .

[cmack]

When I worked at Amazon, I actually considered wearing a diaper because they threatened to fire me for using the bathroom too often.

[ascendednightingale]

My sister worked for Amazon for about a month before they sacked her. She said they followed her everywhere from the bathroom to the break room, and she wasn't allowed to take more than one five minute break a day. She had one friend there who she talked to, and they fired him as well. Amazon is garbage.

[anyany]

Everything is true, yes they monitor your bathroom breaks, yes you only get two 8 minute breaks and 30 mins for lunch, yes big brother is watching you at amazon all the time, make no mistake about it. I worked at amazon for 1 year and Jeff Bozo doesn't give a damn about amazon employees at all, ever.

[bluedog]

I too am rethinking all the purchases I make from Amazon. Unfortunately people "vote" with their dollars. They "voted", for example, for Wal Mart over the local mom and pop stores of the past. But the deck is stacked. If you manipulate people to the point that they have to make every penny count they will usually "vote" for the cheapest provider, Wal Mart/Amazon etc. A sad tale of our evolution. No more one worker households. It takes two and then people still barely get by. Wow, we have "progressed" so much in the last fifty years.

[WilliamSynn]

I hated working at Amazon. People always told me that I should be thankful that I had a job in the first place, but they wouldn’t have lasted more than a day there.

[FloridaMarlin]

I worked here for 5 months in the warehouse, but I couldn't do it anymore the job was mental torture. Felt like a sweat shop

[spidermandank]

I worked for amazon in 2014, the interview was via an agency where a group of us has to do a couple of written tests and then urinate into pots. I applied for the picker and packer team and when I got started I was put on the heavy lifting section. Once I got my first shift/training the "team leaders" were useless and anytime you asked a question it was like an issue to them. One female team leader tried to ignore me for as long as she could until i finally got her attention and she answered with a nasty attitude. On my second day which was my first time doing the heavy lifting, "team leaders" walking across a skywalk just above our heads and constantly monitoring what everything was doing even going as far as to smack a stick on the railing to stop a conversation. They would occasionally be walking behind you aswell. It felt more like work in a prison being watched by guards. The security staff were the biggest bunch of overly macho idiots I've ever seen, walking around with the chests pushed out and shouting silly jokes at the workers expense. You're not allowed nothing in your pockets while in the warehouse and I was told a lighter would be fine by one of the team leaders, but once I went to leave through the metal detectors one of the said macho bunch came over and spoke to me like dirt demanding my name and when I tried to explain it to him his attitude become more hostile to me. Needless to say after my 2nd shift I quit as I was not about to put myself through something like that. When I went into hand my ID card in 2 team leaders and 2 security were at reception and even giving that back consisted of a nasty attitude and asking what I was doing and why I was leaving. I simply smiled and said better job offer and left without giving them a chance to talk.

It truly is a horrible place to work for and could be advertised as a prison job experience!

[joseluisalopez]

Amazon is a US based company. As an American this is embarrassing for our country.

[rodking]

Amazon is the devil, I worked at Zappos here in the states for two years before Amazon bought it. On the initial meeting with emploees, they basically told us that we had no value to them and if you don't like it, leave! Even the CEO said the same thing in an interview I once read. It's true, you reap what you sow, his wife from the beginning divorced him and took his money. Someone else is loving her now !

[estebansanz]

hahahahaha its amazing it took this long for Amazon's crap to be known of. I worked for almost 4 years and trust me, its all true.