Nat Versus the Volcano: Can an AI Investor Solve an Ancient Mystery from the Ashes of Vesuvius?Read more

Chart by Mike Sullivan

The Information Investigation: Amazon Delivery Stations Have More Than Double the Injury Rate of Other Warehouses

Photo: Chart by Mike Sullivan

Working at an Amazon warehouse is more dangerous than working at the typical warehouse. But working at an Amazon delivery station, a small shipping hub where delivery vans whiz in and out daily, appears to be the most hazardous warehouse job of all.

In 2019 and 2020, injury rates at Amazon delivery stations were more than double the industry average, and higher than the rates for Amazon fulfillment centers, sortation centers and air hubs, according to The Information’s analysis of workplace injury data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. And these injuries weren’t just minor scrapes or bruises. Companies only report to OSHA about those that require medical treatment beyond first aid, including serious injuries that cause the employee to miss work or have to transfer to a different position. Most of the injuries Amazon reported to OSHA fell in the latter two categories.

Amazon has opened hundreds of delivery stations across the country in the past two years as part of its effort to reduce its reliance on third-party shippers like UPS and the U.S. Postal Service. The breakneck pace of that expansion is also reflected by inaccurate submissions Amazon made to OSHA. The Information identified more than 100 instances where Amazon appears to have grossly overstated the number of employees working at delivery stations in 2019, based on The Information’s analysis of filings and press releases. Though the employee count for a particular facility does not affect OSHA’s injury rate calculations, it is unclear why Amazon misstated the figures and why it has yet to correct the filings.

Access on the go
View stories on our mobile app and tune into our weekly podcast.
Join live video Q&A’s
Deep-dive into topics like startups and autonomous vehicles with our top reporters and other executives.
Enjoy a clutter-free experience
Read without any banner ads.
OpenAI's Greg Brockman (left) and Google's Demis Hassabis (right). Photos by Getty.
AI Agenda google ai
OpenAI Hustles to Beat Google to Launch ‘Multimodal’ LLM
As fall approaches, Google and OpenAI are locked in a good ol’ fashioned software race, aiming to launch the next generation of large-language models: multimodal.
From left, a Google TPU, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan and Google Cloud chief Thomas Kurian. Photos via Getty, Google and YouTube.
Exclusive google semiconductors
To Reduce AI Costs, Google Wants to Ditch Broadcom as Its TPU Server Chip Supplier
Google executives have extensively discussed dropping Broadcom as a supplier of artificial intelligence chips as early as 2027, according to a person with direct knowledge of the effort.
Flexport founder Ryan Petersen. Photos via Getty and Flexport.
e-commerce
Can Ryan Petersen Fix Flexport?
Ryan Petersen was getting antsy. This March, Petersen had handed over the CEO job at Flexport—the logistics company he’d founded a decade earlier, which had ballooned to an $8 billion valuation in 2022—to veteran Amazon executive Dave Clark.
Photo via Midjourney.
AI Agenda startups ai
The Rise of Startups That Help Other Startups Evaluate LLMs
All but a handful of artificial intelligence startups typically fall into one of two camps. The first group uses a single large-language model, typically OpenAI’s GPT-4, to power their applications.
Photos via Eiso Kant (left) and YouTube/VMWare Tanzu (right)
AI Agenda startups ai
How GitHub Copilot’s Co-Creator Raised $126 Million to Compete with His Former Employer
Recent interest in artificial intelligence has focused on large-language models that aim to do everything from writing Shakespearean poetry to solving math riddles.
Art by Mike Sullivan
entertainment media/telecom
Disney-Charter Deal Could Prompt More Cable TV-Streaming Bundles
Last week, Charter Communications, the No. 2 cable provider, and Walt Disney Co. cut a deal to include Disney streaming services, such as Disney+ and a new ESPN service still in the works, with Charter’s cable television packages.