One of the reasons Amazon is spending billions on robots? They don’t need bathroom breaks. Arriving a few minutes early to the public tour of Amazon’s hi-tech Stone Mountain, Georgia, warehouse, my request to visit the restroom was met with a resounding no from the security guard in the main lobby.
Between the main doors and the entrance security gate, I paced and paced after being told I would have to wait for the tour guide to collect me and other guests for a tour of the 640,000-sq-ft, four-story warehouse.
Amazon offers tours to the public at 28 of its 1,200 US warehouses – a recruiting and public-relations tool to boost brand trust and address criticisms of poor working conditions. It was something to consider as I wound up having to go in the parking lot, propping open my rental car door for privacy.
Bathroom access is one of the most notorious criticisms of Amazon’s treatment of workers. Amazon delivery drivers and warehouse workers have reported having to pee in water bottles due to lack of time and access, and have even said their bathroom breaks are timed.
Zoe Hoffman, an Amazon spokesperson, said it was “absurd and false to connect a visitor’s tour experience to that of our employees”, adding that workers were allowed “regularly scheduled breaks” throughout their shifts.
None of this will be an issue if Amazon’s multibillion-dollar robot dreams come true.
Yes, this is fucked.
I doubt a sane society would aim to replace as many jobs as possible with automation, or necessarily be happy with it. Making this a goal mean trying to remove humans and unions out of the equations.
A sane society may seek to decrease workplace injuries and be more efficient, ie wasting less resources while producing stuff. That could involve better workplace conditions, better product design, and maybe automation. Automation may incidentally replace some tasks, even though it’s not the end goal.