Amazon achievement heart in Eastvale, California on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021.
MediaNews Group | The Riverside Press-Enterprise by way of Getty Photographs
LinkedIn on Wednesday named Amazon the highest U.S. firm to work for for those who’re in search of profession development. It is the second yr Amazon has topped the record.
LinkedIn’s 2022 Prime Firms record tracks seven pillars centered on profession development: Capacity to advance, expertise development, firm stability, exterior alternative, firm affinity, gender variety and unfold of instructional backgrounds. The corporate stated the rankings are primarily based on information from its 810 million members and investments firms make in workers.
However CNBC associate JUST Capital, a platform devoted to measuring and bettering company efficiency within the stakeholder economic system, finds the e-commerce large ranks a lot decrease with employees.
JUST ranks Amazon eleventh of 53 in retail, and 569th total among the many firms JUST tracks within the Russell 1000. JUST Capital’s rankings are decided by a ballot of People on what points they consider U.S. firms ought to prioritize most. For employees, these embody: paying a residing wage, employee well being & security, advantages & work-life steadiness, variety, fairness & inclusion in addition to workforce funding and coaching.
Amazon exceeds the trade common in JUST’s rankings in all classes however one: employee well being and security, which measures the corporate’s well-being protections for employees past what’s required by legislation.
JUST additionally ranks Amazon under the trade common on well being and security primarily based on the variety of controversies and fewer insurance policies on the firm.
This class is notably absent from the appraisal that goes into LinkedIn’s record.
Amazon, the nation’s second-largest non-public employer, has confronted broad scrutiny from lawmakers, activists and a few of its personal workers over its labor report.
Amazon warehouse and supply employees have routinely spoken out towards the corporate, arguing its “buyer obsession” and give attention to speedy supply have created an unsafe working atmosphere for workers. They’ve claimed the breakneck tempo of labor does not enable for enough breaks and toilet time. Workers have additionally urged Amazon to lift wages and provide extra paid trip time.
Activism amongst Amazon workers has picked up for the reason that starting of the coronavirus pandemic. Amazon employees staged protests and spoke out about office security. Workers have additionally accused Amazon of retaliating towards each white-collar and blue-collar members of its workforce who’ve publicly criticized the corporate.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy acknowledged through the GeekWire Summit in October that the corporate might do extra to deal with workers higher. “I feel if in case you have a big group of individuals like we do — we’ve 1.2 million workers — it is nearly like a small nation,” he stated. “There are many issues you could possibly do higher.”
Amazon employees on New York’s Staten Island voted to hitch a union, in maybe the strongest sign of activism on the firm. The end result represents a significant upset for Amazon, which has staunchly opposed unions since its founding over 20 years in the past.
The union election has positioned a renewed give attention to how Amazon treats its workers. Earlier this month, the Home Oversight Committee launched an investigation into Amazon’s labor practices, demanding it flip over data associated to a lethal warehouse collapse in Illinois final yr.
Amid rising labor unrest, Amazon final yr pledged to work on bettering worker welfare. The corporate added “Try to be Earth’s Finest Employer” to its record of management rules, which function the inspiration of its company tradition.
The corporate has additionally added extra strong advantages for workers, equivalent to protecting the price of school tuition, together with books and charges, for its roughly 750,000 hourly workers nationwide. It is pledged $1.2 billion to assist upskill greater than 300,000 of its workers by 2025.
Final fall, Amazon raised its common beginning pay for U.S. warehouse employees to $18 an hour, after setting a $15 an hour minimal wage in 2018.
WATCH: Amazon Labor Union wins — president breaks down future choices
