Workers in Crowded FCs Asked to Maintain Six Feet of Separation

Despite two rather inconsequential walkouts at an Amazon Fulfillment Center in Staten Island, New York driven by worker calls for better protections on the job from the coronavirus and related policies changes, the protests may have had some effect.

Supply Chain Digest Says...   Amazon said workers who deliberately violate social distancing guidelines will receive up to two warnings before, in some cases, being let go. What do you say? Click here to send us your comments Click here to see reader feedback

Amazon announced a few changes last week, including plans to give workers a no-contact temperature check on arrival at an FC, and anyone who tests over 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit will be sent home. Workers will also receive surgical masks for use while on the premises.

That after reports that workers at more than 50 Amazon FCs had become infected with the coronavirus.

This week, Amazon is piloting the use of a disinfectant fog starting at the same Staten Island FC, according to a report from Reuters.

This fog approach is commonly used by airlines and hospitals for comprehensive disinfecting. Amazon has referenced "deep cleaning" at a few FCs after workers there were known to have been infected, though SCDigest has continued to ask exactly how you deep clean a 1 million+ fulfillment center.

“We continue to explore even more preventative measures to support the health and safety of employees, who are providing a critical service in our communities,” Amazon said in a statement.

Meanwhile, earlier news that Amazon would use video surveillance and supervisor monitoring inside FCs to make sure employees maintain mandated separation on the job.

According to CNN, Amazon said it may begin firing employees who "intentionally violate" the company's social distancing guidelines, despite complaints from workers who say the demands of their job make it impossible to comply with the policy.

The announcement is another measure by Amazon to keep its fulfillment centers functioning amid a huge spike in demand for food and many other consumer packaged goods.

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       Amazon said workers who deliberately violate social distancing guidelines will receive up to two warnings before, in some cases, being let go. The company's guidelines call for a distance between individuals of six feet - a standard that would seem to be very difficult to achieve in an FC with hundreds of employees, many of which are mobile workers.

"We've had some instances of employees intentionally violating our clear guidelines on social distancing at our sites, which endangers both the individual and their colleagues," Amazon spokesperson Rachael Lighty said in a statement to CNN. "On the second documented offense, termination may occur."

Amazon did not provide examples of the intentional violations.

What Supply Chain Digest has termed "the thin supply chain line" continues to be under pressure from many quarters.

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