Shut down Amazon: Protesters in Staten Island, New York, say Amazon is not doing enough to protect workers from COVID-19. Image: AP
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Amazon’s employees are suffering and the boss is making billions in the corona crisis
The corona virus pandemic paralyzes the US economy – but the richest person in the world is getting richer. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ wealth has increased by $ 24 billion to $ 138.5 billion since the beginning of the year.
The reason is the ongoing soaring of Amazon shares. On Tuesday they rose again by a good five percent and reached a new record high, from which the founder of the group, as a major shareholder, benefits.
The ranking of the richest
The Amazon employees are seething
Amazon’s delivery services are in high demand in the corona virus crisis. The world’s largest online retailer is having a hard time with the rush, many customers currently have to wait a long time or can no longer place orders.
Amazon is also accused of not doing enough to protect employees. The group faces protests and is criticized for controversial layoffs.
Here, Amazon employees launched an online petition to temporarily shut down operations due to the coronavirus outbreak. Image: AP
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The online mail order giant fired three employees in the United States for repeated violations of internal guidelines. The employees had previously criticized the lack of corona protective measures. “No company should punish its employees for taking care of each other, especially during a pandemic,” said one of the two dismissed user experience designers.
The e-commerce giant said he also fired a warehouse worker in Minnesota “for inappropriate language, behavior, and violations of social distance policies.” “We respect the right of employees to protest,” said Amazon. However, this is not a free ticket for actions that endanger the health, well-being or safety of colleagues. The company did not go into further detail about the dismissals.
This does not bother investors, however, despite the general price slump on the stock markets, Amazon shares have risen by almost a quarter since the beginning of the year.
(sda / dpa / reu)
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