SEATTLE — Amazon says it has spent more than $800 million on COVID-19 safety measures for its employees. The online retail giant showed "60 Minutes" the changes it made to a warehouse near Seattle.
In the story aired May 10, Amazon Vice President of Operations Dave Clark, showed the high-tech improvements designed to protect employees. The show-and-tell happened after workers criticized Amazon for not doing enough to keep them safe, essentially putting profits over people.
“I couldn’t disagree more strongly with the premise that we are late to this party,” Clark said. “I think quite to the contrary, I think we have been early on this curve (compared) to most employers, to particularly major employers to the U.S.”
In order to enter the workplace, employees are screened by a thermal camera that takes their.
Once in the warehouse, video cameras help monitor social distancing. Employees are tracked with the help of artificial intelligence so if someone gets sick, it is easy to identify who has been in contact with that individual.
Clark showed workers in hazmat suits spraying disinfectant.
Amazon released video of a robot in development that will use UV light to sanitize. The company is also spending millions for on-site testing of employees.
Employees who are tracking the numbers across the country say more than 600 workers have become ill, and three have died.
In the interview with "60 Minutes, Clark would not disclose the number of Amazon employees sickened by coronavirus and said the number isn’t “useful.”