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▶ Video account attention cross-border navigation Life is not just about poetry and distant places, but also about the present.It is learned that Amazon recently announced that it will establish the "Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund" to invest US$1 billion to support companies that develop supply chain, distribution and logistics technologies to help them strengthen their core businesses. Among the first companies Amazon supports is Modjoul, a company that develops wearable safety technology that can reduce workplace injuries and prevent musculoskeletal disorders, strains and sprains. Musculoskeletal disorders are one of the most common ailments among Amazon warehouse workers. In response, some sellers mentioned that Amazon had previously promised to become "the safest workplace on earth." Legislators and advocacy organizations strongly criticized the way Amazon treated warehouse workers, which put a lot of pressure on it. This is one of the reasons why Amazon established the Industrial Innovation Fund. Amazon warehouse injury rate soars 20% in 2021 In the year since Amazon pledged to be the “safest workplace on earth,” the injury rate at its U.S. warehouses has soared 20%, with serious injuries rising 15%, according to a new report from the labor union’s Strategic Organizing Center. The report shows that in 2021, Amazon spent $300 million on worker safety and developed many new programs to reduce injuries. But despite this, the injury rate of Amazon warehouse employees is still nearly twice that of non-Amazon warehouse employees. In addition, the report also mentioned that the injury rate in Amazon's newer automated warehouses is nearly 30% higher than that in non-robot warehouses . According to previous foreign media reports, workers in Amazon's robotic facilities repeat actions four times more per hour than workers in non-robot facilities. This is obviously inconsistent with Amazon's original intention in 2021 to apply robots to logistics centers to reduce workers' strenuous exercise. In this regard, many organizations and unions have strongly criticized Amazon's continued surge in injury rates: U.S. regulator: Amazon's high injury rate is related to the speed of work in its warehouses. Amazon Union: Amazon needs to give injured workers more time to recover. Washington state's workplace safety agency said there is a "direct link" between Amazon's "extraordinarily high work pace" and high rates of repetitive stress injuries such as strains, sprains and hernias among the company's warehouse workers. An Amazon spokesperson said in a statement that Amazon's rising injury rate is similar to trends across the industry, and federal data showed that the rate of serious injuries among non-Amazon warehouse workers rose by about 6% between 2020 and 2021. As of now, it remains to be seen whether Amazon can truly make progress on its path to becoming the “safest workplace on earth.” After watching the tense situation between Amazon and various organizations over the injury rate of warehouse workers, Amazon sellers also expressed their deep feelings: In addition to Amazon warehouse workers, we Amazon sellers have also suffered "work injuries" because of Amazon. Who can compensate for these injuries? Amazon sellers suffer both physical and mental "work-related injuries" It was learned that a few days ago, a seller posted a post on the forum about "lumbar disease after sitting for a long time" , which caused heated discussion. The seller said that because his operations job required long periods of sitting, he was diagnosed with lumbar disease at the end of last year. Although he is still young, he is always troubled by back pain. ▲ The picture comes from Zhiwubuyan After the post was published, many sellers also said that they had the same situation: "I've only been working for two years, but my lumbar and cervical vertebrae are no longer in good condition, especially my shoulders and neck, which are stiff every day." "My cervical spine has been uncomfortable recently, and my waist hurts after sitting for a long time." "I have two problems now: one shoulder starts to ache after sitting for a few hours, and the other one hurts my tailbone after sitting for a day." "I worked at Amazon for a few years, but I didn't make much money, but I did have a lot of problems." In this regard, some sellers have contributed their own "prevention and treatment tips": 1. Find a regular hospital for acupuncture, cupping, electrotherapy, and massage; 2. Use your rest time to exercise every day; 3. Use a height-adjustable desk to work while standing and avoid sitting for long periods of time. In addition to physical "work injuries", we also learned that the "mental injuries" that Amazon sellers have recently suffered should not be ignored. The growth rate of Chinese sellers on the Amazon marketplace has slowed in recent years , and the number of top sellers has been decreasing. There are three main reasons: 1. The cost of entering and operating the Amazon platform has been increasing; 2. Amazon closed and froze a large number of Chinese sellers’ accounts, dealing a severe blow to many small and medium-sized enterprises. 3. Amazon no longer provides core consumer data: Starting April 2021, Amazon will no longer provide FBA sellers with detailed information about buyers. In addition, Amazon's operating environment is becoming increasingly complex, amid the energy crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, persistent supply chain bottlenecks, and inflation. Based on this, many Amazon sellers have said that they have suffered "mental injuries" one after another: "The past glory is gone, we say goodbye upstairs today." "There was no order in the first place, so why would I leave a review?" "Amazon is asking sellers to pay for the shrinking profits, but how can sellers justify the shrinking profits?" "If you want to work for Amazon, you must save 4,000 yuan! Don't ask why! Because if you lose everything you own, you will at least have 4,000 yuan to buy an electric car!" In this regard, we also learned that in addition to considering "deploying on other platforms", some Amazon sellers are also thinking about withdrawing from Amazon and switching to other industries. Recently, there have been many posts on the forum about "relieving Amazon's pressure", and some sellers have contributed their own tips on relieving pressure: 1. Find your favorite entertainment: sports, listening to music, cooking, playing games, etc.; 2. Make good plans and focus on the present. The vision and planning for the future are the driving force for working hard now; 3. Expand your horizons and maintain an optimistic and positive attitude towards life. Although you cannot regard Amazon as a passing cloud, don’t regard it as everything either. The world is bustling with people, all for the sake of profit. The world is in turmoil, all for the sake of profit. We cannot deny that due to the environment, the popularity of cross-border e-commerce has indeed receded and its ability to attract money is no longer as strong as it was two years ago. However, at present, Amazon is still the largest platform to reach global consumers, and it is not a thing of the past. Although the fact that Amazon sellers have suffered "double work injuries" both physically and mentally is indelible, we still want to remind all sellers that by following cross-border market trends and operating in compliance, they may be able to wait until the next bonus period arrives, and the hardships and injuries suffered by Amazon sellers will not be in vain. What do you think about this? Welcome to discuss in the comment area~
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