Amazon ‘plants fake packages in its delivery trucks’ in a bid to trap drivers who steal from the company
- The dummy packages have fake labels that give an error message when scanned
- The message tricks drivers into thinking the goods are not on Amazon’s systems
- If the drivers don’t report the fault, they are listed as a potential package thief
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Amazon is planting fake passages in its delivery trucks to catch drivers who are stealing packages, anonymous sources claim.
The dummy Amazon packages, which have fake labels and are often empty, are placed in delivery trucks at random.
Any driver who fails to return one of the packages to an Amazon warehouse is suspected of stealing from the company, the sources said.
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Amazon is planting fake passages in its delivery trucks to catch drivers who are stealing packages, anonymous sources claim (stock image)
Sources with knowledge of the company scheme told Business Insider the fake packages are designed to check the ‘integrity’ of delivery drivers.
In response to the accusations, Amazon said: ‘Checks and audits are part of overall quality programs and are administered at random.’
During a shift, Amazon drivers scan every package before they deliver them.
However, the dummy labels on the fake packages are designed to bring up an error message on the delivery system.
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Employees should keep the package in their van and return it to a warehouse at the end of the day, or call their supervisors to address the problem.
But drivers could theoretically choose to steal the package, as the error means the goods are not registered on Amazon’s systems.
Dummy packages that are not returned to the warehouse have likely been stolen, flagging drivers as potential thieves.
Pictured is Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. The company, which ships five billion packages a year to its Prime members, does not say how many packages it loses to theft
‘If you bring the package back, you are innocent,’ said Sid Shah, a former manager for DeliverOL, a courier company that delivers packages for Amazon.
‘If you don’t, you’re a thug.’
Amazon, which ships five billion packages a year to its Prime members, does not say how many packages it loses to theft.
However, package theft is estimated to have cost retailers an estimated $47 billion (£36 billion) last year, according to the National Retail Federation.
Amazon is known to deter potential thieves in its warehouses by showing them videos of previous employees who have been caught stealing.
The Seattle-based firm has repeatedly been criticised for its treatment of warehouse employees, who are ruled by a punishing race against the clock to track down items ordered by online shoppers.
Multiple reports suggest workers are forced to urinate in bottles and cut commutes by sleeping in tents outside where they work to meet daily package quotas.
WHY HAS AMAZON BEEN CRITICIZED FOR ITS TREATMENT OF EMPLOYEES?
Amazon has been accused of ‘dehumanizing’ its staff to deliver products to customers.
Workers at the internet shopping giant’s distribution centers face disciplinary action if they lose a punishing race against the clock to track down items ordered by online shoppers.
Staff paint a picture of a stressful environment ruled by the bleeps of handheld devices – nicknamed ‘the gun’ – instructing them which items to collect.
Bosses are said to push staff so far past breaking point that they ‘practically combust’, while regular sackings to keep workers on their toes were described by one HR manager as ‘purposeful Darwinism’.
According to an expose last year, the company’s best workers are known as ‘Amabots’ – because they are so ‘at one with the system’ they are almost cyborgs.
In November shocking claims were made about the online retailer’s newest warehouse – which the company refers to as a ‘fulfilment centre’ – in Tilbury, Essex.
The packing plant is the biggest in Europe, the size of 11 football pitches, and is due to ship 1.2million items this year.
In November shocking claims were made about the online retailer’s newest warehouse – which the company refers to as a ‘fulfilment centre’ – in Tilbury, Essex
The investigation, by an undercover reporter for the Sunday Mirror who spent five weeks there, suggested workers suffer mentally and physically as they try to meet demand.
He said that some of his colleagues were so tired from working 55-hour weeks that they would ‘sleep on their feet’.
‘Those who could not keep up with the punishing targets faced the sack – and some who buckled under the strain had to be attended by ambulance crews,’ he added.
Just the following month it emerged Amazon delivery drivers are asked to drop off up to 200 packages a day, are paid less than minimum wage and urinate in bottles because there’s no time to take a break
Legal firm Leigh Day, which led a case against taxi giant Uber, is representing seven drivers who say the agencies used by Amazon are mistreating them.
While Amazon does not employ the drivers directly, the drivers, who are recruited through agencies, work via an Amazon app and follow delivery routes made by the company.
But drivers who are given up to 200 packages a day to deliver, say that traffic jams, weather and speed limits make it near impossible to deliver all of the parcels in a timely fashion.
A spokesperson for Amazon said: ‘Amazon provides a safe and positive workplace. The safety and well-being of our permanent and temporary associates is our number one priority.’
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