Amazon Faces COVID-19 Dilemma As it Mulls Requiring Employees To Get Vaccinated

RJ Pierce, Tech Times 04 August 2021, 02:08 pm

Amazon is having some major troubles trying to get its workforce vaccinated against COVID-19.

(Photo : Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
LEEDS, ENGLAND - MAY 27: A general view outside an Amazon UK Services Ltd Warehouse at Leeds Distribution Park on May 27, 2021 in Leeds, England.

As per a report by Bloomberg, the online retail giant is currently trying to determine if they'd require their employees, especially those in warehouses, to come to work with proof of a COVID vaccine. However, a lot of Amazon warehouse workers are self-described virus skeptics, and now the company is trying to keep a delicate balance between handling a pandemic and keeping their workforce intact.

In simpler terms, Amazon requiring workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 could risk them losing their people in the first place.

This comes after several companies throughout the US have now started requiring proof of vaccination for their workforce. Microsoft and Tyson Foods are the two latest ones to implement vaccine mandates, as well as Google, writes The New York Times.

One manager at an Amazon east coast warehouse made it clear:

"A lot of the associates do not want to be forced to get something," [If Amazon rolled out a vaccine mandate] "it wouldn't go over well. They'd lose a lot of employees if they do that."

This is the latest COVID-19-related news from Amazon since last month, when the company decided to end onsite warehouse testing for the virus. For now, Amazon has told the media that they're closely monitoring local outbreaks, which could lead to a major decision in the coming months.

Amazon's COVID-19 Troubles

Ever since the pandemic began, one may argue that Amazon experienced a renaissance because of the massive increase in online shopping revenues. Since people were on lockdown and can't visit physical stores, it was understandable.

But that's obviously just the tip of the iceberg. Early on during the pandemic, the company reported almost 20,000 COVID cases within, which forced them to take drastic measures in an attempt to prevent a massive outbreak. This number hasn't been updated since October last year, though, which could be bad on the grand scale of things.

'Brutal War' for Frontline Workers

Retailers such as Amazon are fighting two battles at once right now. Frontline workers in essential industries have been quite hard to come by. As a result, Amazon has been in a so-called "brutal war" to employ as many frontline workers as they can to keep their business going. But this is way harder with new vaccination mandates for obvious reasons.

According to Kirthi Kalyanam, the director of Santa Clara University's Retail Management Institute, it can be impossible for companies like Amazon to hire new employees since people can simply quit and move to another employer if they don't want to get vaccinated. Also, vaccination rates are lower among a workforce with low education levels, which is something that retailers tend to tap into.

What Now?

With the US starting to require their workers to get COVID-19 vaccines, Amazon will have to make a decision fast. Perhaps they could rely on the fact that people will eventually believe they have no choice but to get vaccinated or find no employment as the pandemic goes on.

(Photo : Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
FERGUSON, MISSOURI - AUGUST 04: A COVID vaccine is administered on August 04, 2021 in Ferguson, Missouri. According to the latest numbers from the state’s health department, only a little more than 4 in 10 Missourians have received the COVID vaccine as the pandemic continues to infect thousands of residents. Communities with high rates of unvaccinated residents have been hit especially hard by the Delta variant, the unvaccinated representing the overwhelming majority of hospitalized patients.

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Written by RJ Pierce