Whole Foods workers say conditions worsened after Amazon's takeover | Business



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Since they were bought by Amazon two years ago, Whole Foods employees say their working conditions have deteriorated dramatically in the face of mounting pressure to promote Amazon Prime offers and subscriptions, understaffing widespread, increased workload and budget cuts.

Amazon announced in June 2017 that it would buy Whole Foods. During interviews with 24 Whole Foods employees across the United States, they described an increasingly pressured environment and the erosion of Whole Foods' corporate culture.

Respondents were reluctant to speak out to avoid reprisals.

"Amazon has changed the society so much that I can no longer recognize Whole Foods," said a member of the Whole Foods team in California. "Every day, I feel sick to see the store that I love bombarded with everything from Amazon, Prime Signs, Amazon Lockers, Amazon Meal Kits, and Prime Stores. "

In September 2018, a group of former and former Whole Foods workers organized Whole Worker, a group of workers who organized to collectively promote the improvement of working conditions.

In a massive email sent June 21 to Whole Foods employees by more than a dozen workers and former employees of Whole Worker, the group described Whole Foods' relationship with Amazon as a subordinate at Amazon, where employees are primarily used to increase the number of Amazon Prime members. and top notch offers.

A member of the Whole Foods team in the southwestern United States said, "Cashiers are currently trained to ask each customer where they have Prime. In the fall, they start signing up at the customer service counter. Their goal is for 35% of product purchases to be Amazon Prime sales, even if the guest does not have Prime. "

A team leader from Whole Foods, who runs a meat service in the northeastern United States, said the training for new employees now included sections on the Prime benefits for customers. "It had nothing to do with customer service, expectations or requirements. Simply the benefits of Prime, that it's all about or answering questions on Kindle, Amazon, Amazon Fire Stick and Amazon tablets, "they said.

An employee of Whole Foods in the Pacific Northwest said that Amazon kiosks are replacing prime bins at Whole Foods stores in the area, where Prime customers can deposit and take Amazon orders.

"Whole Foods is not an independent company that has an investment or something from Amazon. This is an outpost for retail grocery stores for Amazon, which aims to boost online sales, premium subscriptions and Prime devices, "they said.

In an email, a representative of Whole Foods told The Guardian: "Our team members are at the heart of the Whole Foods market and we are proud to continue to post one of the highest rates of sales in the world. full-time / part-time employment and hourly starting salary in the industry. industry. We have not reduced hours of work because of the increase in the minimum wage starting at $ 15 per hour.

However, many employees from different departments at Whole Foods said they were pushed to prioritize Amazon-related tasks over everything else.

"We need to have big posters on our Prime offers, extra posters on the shelves and samples, otherwise we're constantly being questioned," said a member of the Whole Foods team who works in a specialty service in the area. Rockies.

Several Whole Foods workers have noted that one of the changes related to the Amazon was the lack of staff becoming the norm in the stores where they worked. Amazon has set a minimum wage of $ 15 for all employees, making any salary increase virtually non-existent.

"I have been working for the company for over ten years and I have been witnessing the latest labor crisis since applying the minimum of $ 15 an hour," said a staff member. Whole Foods in the Midwest.

The worker stated that her work schedule had been reduced to 27 hours a week, while working full-time and working in an understaffed department. "They continue to give us more and more tasks and checklists and other things to do, but our hours continue to be reduced."

A full-time Whole Foods team member in the Central Atlantic Coast region said, "It's now that I'm usually scheduled to work 36 to 37 hours a week" since the minimum wage increase in the Amazon.

Another Whole Foods worker in California told The Guardian: "Our store is in labor shortage or has been compressed since the winter of 2018. We have succeeded and created a pleasant environment. Then we stopped hiring, reduced the hours of work, moved people to fix the holes. "

A buyer and supervisor for Whole Foods on the west coast said, "We do not have the manpower to put the products on the shelves for customers and we do not have time for service to the customers because we are constantly trying to catch up ".

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