Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) workers, and the world, are about to find out how aggressive their employer can be in what could be the largest experiment in workplace safety culture ever undertaken.
Amazon announced Monday that WorkingWell, a program that provides employees with physical, mental and nutritional support, among other wellness services, will be rolled out across the entire U.S. operations network by year-end, with the aim of cutting recordable incident rates — an OSHA measurement of worker injury and illness — by 50% by 2025.
The company, which has faced criticism over worker conditions as its size and customer demand have grown, is investing $300 million in safety projects this year, though it did not break out spending on this program specifically as part of that budget.
WorkingWell is not entirely new to Amazon employees, nor is the plan to cut injury rates. It was first piloted in 2019 and has already reached a huge number of workers, 859,000 employees at 350 sites in North America and Europe. In Amazon’s most recent earnings report released in late April, the company indicated it was going to expand the program, though it did not offer full details.
A company executive says it has never offered all of the program components at all sites, and it hopes to reach 1,000 sites by the end of 2021, and after that, extend to Europe (where pilot sites do exist), and beyond.
AMZN shares vaulted $43.99, or 1.4%. to $3,266.89
