Amazon drivers feel the heat over metrics

Just two hours into his shift delivering packages for Amazon late last month, Alonzo was hit by a wave of exhaustion.

Temperatures in Temple Hill, California, were forecast to hit a record 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44 Celsius) that day, and it felt even hotter inside the non-airconditioned compartment where he had to load packages into his van.

“I’d never felt that hot before in my life,” he said. “I started to bleed from my nose, and was told to take a 15-minute break,” said the 25-year-old, who asked not to give his full name.

After the quick rest, he continued on his delivery run because he feared taking a longer break could impact the productivity metrics that Amazon.com Inc. - the biggest US online retailer - collects on drivers like himself.

California and other parts of the Western United States are seeing an unprecedented heatwave as climate change fuels extreme weather worldwide, and local officials have urged employers to take measures to protect workers from the heat.

Temperatures above 100F (38C) lead to a dramatic uptick of more than 15per cent in worker injury rates in California, a 2021 study by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) found.

When thermometers hit 115F (46C), Amazon’s automated system tells workers to return to their stations and halt work.

And responding to the current heatwave, the company has also shortened some delivery runs, given drivers up to 60 minutes of additional breaks and distributed water and “cooling towels.”

Some of the drivers - who work for the Delivery Service Partners (DSPs) contractors that serve Amazon - have welcomed the measures, saying Amazon is making an effort to keep them safe during the heat.

But more than a dozen drivers and other DSP employees told the Thomson Reuters Foundation the steps were not enough, calling for Amazon to ease the pace of work and its algorithmic management system to ensure workers’ safety during heatwaves.

Over recent weeks, drivers have been sharing pictures of temperature readings taken inside their vans in online forums, with many gauges topping 120F (49C). In one, the thermometer appears to have broken as the reading nears 125F (52C).

“It feels like you’re in an open-air oven all the time,” said Brad, a driver in Riverside, California, who said Amazon had not significantly shortened his routes during the heatwave.

In late August, as temperatures soared, he decided to slow down - only to receive an automated message from Amazon saying he had under-performed on his “delivery completion rate.”

“It’s all about performance metrics - they want you to complete 20-25 stops an hour, and if you fall behind you’re in trouble,” said Brad, who also asked not to give his full name.

Amazon spokesperson Maria Boschetti said in an emailed statement that “driver safety is Amazon’s priority above every other metric, including the number of packages delivered or returned to station”.

“We communicate to our DSPs regularly that drivers should never make a delivery if they feel unsafe or unwell, and they’re empowered to return to station if at any time they feel their health or safety is in jeopardy.”