Rather than improving working conditions to avoid protests, Amazon came up with the idea of paying employees to promote the company.
Indeed, a few years ago, we learned that the e-commerce giant had set up a program to remunerate its employees who publish positive messages about the company on social networks. According to the FinancialTimesthis system was abandoned.
Paid for tweets or Facebook posts
According to sources cited by the outlet, Amazon has quietly shut down the so-called “ ambassador and deleted all traces of its existence by the end of 2021.
Amazon officials said the move failed to deliver the expected results of improving the retail giant’s image among consumers and potential candidates to join the company.
Not only did the messages published by the employees within the framework of this program not have the intended scope, but the revelation of the very existence of the project contributed to stirring up anger towards the management of the Seattle firm.
Amazon targeted by several reports
The origin of the ambassador program comes from growing criticism of working conditions and lack of safety in Amazon warehouses. In 2018, a damning report accused the company of applying such pressure on its employees that some felt pressured to urinate into bottles rather than take a bathroom break.
Accidents resulting in injuries occurring within fulfillment centers have also been documented, as has forcing some unhealthy employees back into the field. Amazon is also singled out for undermining attempts at union organizing and failing to intervene to prevent the establishment of a toxic corporate culture in some places.
Employees paid to spread positive messages had to adopt a direct style, but a polite tone in their writing. They were sometimes asked to respond to specific cases taken up by the press and the political class. An example of a message could be: I’ve worked at Amazon for four years, and I’ve never seen anyone urinate in a bottle.. »
Source: FinancialTimes
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