Amazon bosses squirm through grilling on workers' treatment in select committee

[@adriant4479]

This is what it looks like to have sold your soul

[@Videomaster89]

Yes, worse than the ASDA questions, I have not bought anything from Amazon since 2019 I think other people who feel strongly against Amazon's treatment of workers and lack of tax payments to shop elsewhere online Etsy etc and on the high street, Amazon is not always cheaper and the CEO is super rich Jeff Bezos.

[@santosvella]

@@Videomaster89 Andy Jassy is the current CEO of Amazon. He officially took over the role on July 5, 2021,

[@User-o6e5o]

Her “Yeeeeaas” is so devilish

[@tomworrall190]

You’re suggesting they had one to sell. Maybe they sold their grandmother’s?

[@mdstanton1813]

Everyone has a price!

[@jujitsujew23]

She didn’t squirm, she grinned like a sociopath who doesn’t care about exploiting workers as long as she gets her bonus

[@hughwilson2219]

Bezos was watching and listening to her as she sat there.

[@L4Disillusion]

She looks like the hawk tuah girl. What a joke!

[@Nemesis-pe7mw]

Nah, the bonus is just the icing. For these types of people getting to screw over others and getting away with it IS the reward!

[@arynrowland862]

You think it’s bad over there, here in the US, they’re literally incentivized to exploit their employees, and nobody cares enough to change it.

[@JB-mh5xy]

Because everyone this high in a company is a psychopath. I mean. That's just facts.

[@TheWelshwing77]

As HR director, not knowing why your employees went on strike should be a sackable offence of gross incompetence!

[@Mysonmadevideos]

And they would be sacked if they didn't know....... they know

[@AB-gb8lb]

They do know, just don’t want to have it broadcast from their mouths and go viral about the world.

[@sjthjsdreadfather4867]

Why? HR isn’t there to look after its employees. It’s there to manage the Human Resources of the company. HR DOES NOT care about you as a person. They care that you are an effective resource

[@judithmatthews8460]

They know. They don’t want to have on record before MPs

[@FulloutPostal]

@@judithmatthews8460 but isn't that the point? a striking employee is NOT an effective resource...

[@Bean-js9bc]

Fair play to the MP that pushed the "why?" question.

[@andybrown4284]

Well played indeed because it let another committee member launch into a barrage of questions relating to documents that are required for a strike to legally go ahead. Claiming not to know the reasons when it will be on record is a huge black mark.

[@twohopes8353]

and what? nothing changed. those guys shit on them.on live tv. no consequences for them. actually more like those psychopaths will do the same now once they find out they can do what the fuck they want

[@chadsoltys4127]

agree, he made her look COMPLETELY incompetent and everyone knew she was lying.

[@Fredric_Cedrich]

The fake smiles. The robotic answers. The inhuman corporatised vocabulary. The empty eyes… are we sure they’re not plugged in to an Alexa somewhere near by?? Or are their families been held captive & they’ve been told marksmen are watching them through the walls with thermal vision scopes & high velocity rounds?

[@andyt2k]

Her fake smile is so creepy

[@SpudgunStreams]

At one point during the committee meeting, the subject of a worker partially losing their eyesight came up and she never lost that grin.

[@andybrown4284]

She probably bought it at walmart

[@pleasy13]

@@andybrown4284 I think it's an American thing. My wife and all her colleagues were brought to a meeting where the US boss said some of them will be made redundant. She did this with a huge smile on her face and said "You'll know who will be leaving after Christmas." At the end of the meeting she then said, "I hope you all have a wonderful evening!" All of this was said with the insane grin. I can only assume that some sort of sociopathy is compulsory among US bosses.

[@L4Disillusion]

She probably slept her way to that position

[@Bashdar-c3e]

No it’s not…

[@mrdanjames]

Top paid CEO doesn’t know the reasons for a strike… Wonder if there are any consequences for misleading a committee? Or do they just get to pretend that they don’t know how to do their job?

[@kieranclarges2514]

Ironically... Lying to a select committee in the US will get you Prison time... However an American company lying to a British select committee will get ZERO punishment! British select committees have ZERO power!

[@Beardyweirdyuk]

Neither of those folks were a "Top paid CEO' - they are Director level HR leaders (L8 in internal Amazon level money) and they knew exactly what they were doing here.

[@hakster8006]

Well, look at the Post Office hearings. They got to play dumb, bow their heads a bit, say sorry, and hope it all goes away. Of course, the problem is that if it's got as far as a parliamentary committee, it isn't going away...

[@stop-the-greed]

its actually purgery ...the should be fined for this

[@mrdanjames]

@@Beardyweirdyuk fair point, they were there to look stupid and protect some bigger fish…

[@AndrewLaird-ok3sw]

If one of their employees answered like this in a disciplinary interview, they would be terminated.

[@JanHus-e3z]

Make CEOs Afraid Again!

[@Sirlarrythecat]

Make CEO's Accountable Again and legally responsible

Three words... Deny Defend Depose

[@ibtunesoriginals2629]

When did they used to be afraid tho?

[@jkhavaran]

How could they possibly not know the reasons the workers went on strike? Shows how much they actually care about the concerns of the employees.

[@Czechbound]

Either a) they are lying or b) they are incompetent. Future employers take note

[@bjbest]

They do know.

[@jkhavaran]

@@Czechbound exactly. If they know but they don’t have the backbone to talk about it, they shouldn’t be anyone’s boss.

[@philipshore6924]

"Delay, Deny, Defend" tactics. Answering openly will be bad for Amazon and lead to follow up questions. Best to get the legal team to answer ... as slowly as possible.

[@matt69nice]

They do know, pretending not to know certain things is part of their strategy to avoid negative press and consequences

[@beady123]

They just loved their work so much they were probably striking out of pure bliss and to make everyone aware of how great a place to work it is.

[@CurtalA]

Wonderful questioning. Made them squirm.

[@totalprecisioncarpenter5922]

Yet Amazon will pay top politicians back handers and the gravy train rolls on

[@davidmcculloch8490]

If Amazon is such a great place to work, why not sack these clueless execs and trust the workers to run the operation?

[@yorygibson-rc1lw]

That would taking money tree away 😂😂😂

[@icravedeath.1200]

I mean harley davidson is doing really well and they're worker ran

[@1pauljs]

Their failure to answer a basic ‘why’ question makes them seem so horribly dense. Leaving everyone assuming that it must be a terrible place to work if they can’t even bring themselves to speak it.

[@Gph0367]

FFS SAKE. ITS A MULTI BILLION POUND COMPANY. JUST PAY AND TREAT YOUR WORKERS WELL!

[@MianCowell]

shareholders> workers

[@MegaZayd1]

but not paying is how u get there /s

[@randyschwaggins]

I don't disagree...but if it is so bad then why don't workers leave and get another job? The reason is because while Amazon is far from a perfect employer...it pays more and offers more job security to those unskilled workers than is available elsewhere. If that wasn't the case then Amazon wouldn't have workers...but...surprise...they do!

[@YorkshireSpud]

Billion pound companies become billion pound companies because they exploit many people to get there.

[@bladerunner16]

That's why they are billionaires in the 1st place. Make your money off the back of others.

[@mike_d_melb_music_fan5229]

Can't these executives be held in contempt of Parliament for refusing to answer questions ? The CEO of an Australian supermarket chain recently got threatened with criminal charges for not answering questions in an Australian Senate inquiry.

[@TrevorPowers-h2i]

The guy asking “why” (sorry didn’t catch his name) is a legend. Ruthless and we need much more of this from our media and politicians.

[@brianp1230]

There are no repercussions for lying or evading to the UK Parliament or the US Congress, so why would one of the world’s wealthiest and most powerful companies be open and honest?

[@Woofersgalore]

The Legal Reason on the ballot paper is a superb example showing the Amazon bot in her true colours.

[@itzsleazy6903]

Amazing how they act clueless and smile at every opportunity

[@SukunaAvi]

"I can’t recall" Followed by "We’ve been working for 2 years on this."

[@jabezhane]

These people are trained to answer questions in this way. It's standard corporate practice. Watch any US Senate hearing and you'll see it there.

[@nevergetagooduserid]

Why give up asking. Keep asking till you get an answer. These people know how to avoid answering

[@EddieThornton]

Awesome questions and pressure. I wish American media would have done this to GOP at any point since 2016. And, that guy's hair is incredibly impressive!

[@Ali01007]

Great job from the team for the pressure they put on these Amazon bosses. Made me smile. ❤

[@Hbw113]

I’m sure in some cases these select committees do yield positive results for workers but all I’ve ever seen is bosses come in and either claim ignorance or deny all wrongdoing. When caught out or can’t think of an explanation they simply say ‘we’ll write back to you on that’. Its very important these bosses are held to account but when select committees have no teeth their ability to get comprehensive answers is, at best, questionable

[@yorygibson-rc1lw]

What happened to the pot office inquiry sweet f a it is to show that politicians are listening to the public but they do nothing in the end until 20 40 years later

[@Josheroo]

To be fair to the system we have (which is not something I often say as the system is broken), that is not their primary mandate. The Select Committee's job is to keep people/groups (Government, business, etc.) accountable, but it is primarily about fact-finding and reporting on the results. I am not saying this is working; it clearly is not, but it is the intention. Frankly, the committee should have teeth above what they have because lying to a committee is an offence. An offence that rarely, if ever, is used. This means EITHER the offence is too narrowly written and must be changed OR they are deferential to those they are questioning, which also means they need to be changed. I do not know how to fix this without a consultation, but the system certainly needs strengthening. The question of the moment, though, is how?

[@totalprecisioncarpenter5922]

Everyone sitting in that room is getting paid nicely doesn’t serve their interest to actually get results

[@drewgoin8849]

The information gathered at these committee hearings gather the information which is used to inform legislators when they formulate new bills.

[@hayleypbop]

Spot on questions. Shit answers.

[@brianeasy9]

Hiding the truth about the reasons for a strike is as bad as lying.

[@erinjohnson7329]

Agreed - I'd've liked the chair to give them a ten-minute adjournment, and if on their return they still can't give the answer, everyone on the committee should read it out in unison 😂

[@stevepipenger4651]

Bezosism.

[@HughWP6683]

Disgusting to see such lack of integrity

[@charlottecarter2748]

Very proud of UK committee

[@tea.topzone]

Perhaps you could encourage them to grill NHS leaders about wastage of financial and human resources??

[@charlottecarter2748]

@@tea.topzone it's much more complex to grill health service because it's about living and dying. YOu need people that can talk surgically direct, complexly empathically and statistically futuristic while remaining composed and democratic. Seems like no one is ready for that performance yet

[@David-d8l3w]

This is a must watch for ALL MP's to understand how/why the Public get frustrated - when THEY don't answer a straight forward question

[@chd1995-f2p]

A suggested way to stop the lying If anyone lies or misleads a Parliamentary Committee they should have their pension confiscated and placed in the public purse This approach would focus minds

[@shabazhussain456]

Yeah boy we're making bank. 😎

[@tiffanybach8470]

Oh, so they treat people like crap in every country. That’s good to know.

[@stop-the-greed]

boycott Amazon

[@randyschwaggins]

😂😂😂😂😂 Customers created Amazon through free will...because it delivered what millions of people all wanted...and still does...so very few people who use it will ever boycott it. Sorry!

[@stuontwo677]

The fucking bot spam as soon as this was posted was ridiculous.

[@evanrenforth5944]

What was the bot spam saying?

[@mdb3040]

Tell us dude, I’m intrigued

[@stevied667iswin]

​@mdb3040 Order the comments by newest, and head to the bottom.

[@Sickle_Smith]

@@stevied667iswin I did that and turns out stuontwo677 was the first comment lmao so which comments are bot spam please?

[@stevied667iswin]

@@Sickle_Smith They appear to have been deleted. There were 3 messages that I saw prompting people to view their bio, and saying things like "Isn't this KZbinr great, I wish I was like them" and "Check out pics of me........etc". All 3 had the same picture of a ladies bottom, but different usernames.

[@Mr---mr4ll]

It’s like she’s in a cult

[@AlfieGoodrich]

She is.

[@RyanJ_]

How do they find such heartless people?

[@AJRo-l2d]

In the corporate world they are two a penny.

[@maryellengriffey5819]

HR

[@jonsage5486]

There’s only one way to deal with this Don’t use Amazon Don’t use Spotify Etc etc etc

[@maryamali3347]

The last Female mp came with all guns blazing 😀

[@AodhanBeag]

The American arrogance of word salads and feigning ignorance to avoid accountability is unmmatched

[@robertbooth3699]

It's a universal skill. Americans don't have a monopoly on corporate bullshit. There's more than enough on the world market.

[@Tashio240]

Well done for rinsing this unscrupulous company.

[@bakedbean37]

This just demonstrates their utter contempt for all of us. Boycott Amazon as much as possible. Jeff's got plenty enough already.

[@bitchmangler]

What he said. Amazon killed our high streets and sucks money out of the country like a fucking vampire.

[@Jesus_H._Tap-DancingChrist]

Shows how seriously they take accusations

[@ericknopf2109]

That smile she gave her colleague: “We’re not supposed to answer that. Do you want to answer it?”

[@Kleptobratstoruleusall]

Master class in calling out BS’ers.

[@richardnorris9184]

So did they know the reason for the strike - but just didn't want to say, or were they so useless at their jobs that they didn't know?

[@garyhardwick8489]

That woman really needs to realise she's not in America and stop smiling all the time. That aside I really cannot believe neither of them knew why their employees went on strike. They must be very naive if they didn't think (or it simply didn't occur to them) that they wouldn't be asked such a question in front of a select committee.

[@harrysmith9039]

Failure to answer should lead to sanctions and harsh ones.

[@SlayerEddyTV]

They are so evasive and time wasting...Looks like they get the same sort of training as many MP's.

[@timbartellselsdon]

At Amazon Croydon depot the van drivers are not allowed to go to toilet if they do they lose their place in the queue and their days work. The queues of vans are backed onto local streets where people were reporting bottles of pee being chucked into their gardens,. I hope that has improved.

[@mrrt2317]

The locals should launch the bottles over the fence back to Amazon.

[@tersecwalsingham5778]

Who gives a flip if they squirm? They won't do anything unless the law makes them.

[@darman12able]

This is why we need a contempt of court equivalent for these types of hearings. These overpaid, soulless ghouls would be far less recalcitrant with their answers if they knew that if they didn’t answer the question properly they’d be spending the night not in their comfortable London hotel rooms but in the Hotel Belmarsh or Bronzefield.

[@dannikerr5284]

They went on strike for a living wage - £15 per hour - they didn't know this?? Makes you wonder how much they get paid an hour not to know how much their employees get paid an hour Aaaarrrrrrggggggghhhhh!!!!!

[@PlanetAfterlife997]

They say they are in close connection with all their distributers, and yet they claim they have no idea why their employees in Coventry are striking.

[@oh8866]

5:58 "Please repeat the question" oh my lord

[@sparkyoc6766]

Perhaps the phrases, 'Contempt of Parliament ' and 'Spend the night in the cells' should be heard more often in the inquiries. I think it would be surprising how quickly information would appear.

[@mudkipdan]

Such arrogance. This committee gives an great insight on why we should all use alternatives as opposed to shopping at Amazon. Glad I have done so for years.

[@Monkey_slapping_keys]

Yep thats squirming, trouble is this looks toothless so they do not need to answer.

[@CommandoTactics]

If they're not going to be open to a committee, then how about we revoke their license to operate until they are.

[@duncanmiller3067]

Shows what poor bosses these two are when they don’t know why their staff are going on strike? They’re just lying crooks.

[@jesmarina]

"Increased safety risk" as a result of the reduced notification period - did he actually just say that? Wow.....these people have no shame.

[@gos4343]

The “Let’s pretend we are holding corporates to account “ show ! 👍Do we all feel warm inside now 🥰

[@therandomoguy3809]

The fact they can just not answer questions answers the question of why no one has faith in our systems anymore.

[@Czechbound]

Jesus wept : a large site in your business goes on strike, and the HR Director (!) claims to not know _at all_ why they went on strike. Just not credible. Any future employer of this pair should give them a wide berth. If their apparent lack of integrity doesn't worry you, the fact that an important point that someone leading the HR team of a well resourced business not being prepared and knowing _basic_ facts should tell you that they are an incompetent pair. Though no doubt they'll put "experience dealing with parliamentary committees" on their Linkin profiles

[@Peanutbutterfingers]

It's not that she doesn't know, of course she knows. She's also aware that a select committee has no power and she doesn't have to answer him properly

[@pleasy13]

Czech - I'm afraid you've got it the wrong way around. Most large companies would hire both of them for avoiding answering anything at all. This "skill" is seen as a prerequisite for senior HR and managers. I think they'd favour the lady though as her sociopathic smile never faltered. Now that's a highly developed skill there. She could likely keep smiling while drowning a baby.

[@scottinjapan6030]

Oh they know. I think this might be called "LYING" or "dodging" but with women and being friendly, appearing helpful and with a BIIIIIIIG SMILE. They know the reasons. Thanks to Antonia Bance who nailed them. She lost her smile taling to another women who clearly was very clear on the legal points. Please bring them back before the committee.

[@dianeredwood6783]

Rubbish pay and targets to pick goods at lightening speed not enough rest breaks I hazzard a guess

[@piddlydiddly]

"Mandatory extra time" aka compulsary overtime is often a thing between November and January.

[@Shelleysnail]

And nappies

[@gabrielruffin1448]

Yes it's not the best place to work when going through all of the speed, not enough break, and the long hrs on a person's body, in which is wearing the body down.

[@G34-w9m]

The chair repeated, they need to be open with the committee. They weren’t. Get them in court and see how forgetful they are then

[@MozD]

Why aren’t the employees represented here? Where’s the rep from the striking workers? They can answer the “why” question.

[@brianeasy9]

Probably threatened been with the sack if they attended.

[@MadnessQuotient]

Often in select committees the opposing sides in industrial disputes are questioned on different days or sessions. Keeps things civil and allows them the time to air grievances.

[@HH63KG]

What absolute crap from these slimy HR executives

[@chrisholland7367]

They've well and truly sold their souls to Satan .

[@MarcusHawksley]

No, I can't answer the question, that would suggest i cared enough about our workers to pay attention to their complaints

[@jimmaccauley]

The reason for the strike was "better conditions and an hourly wage increase from £11 to £15." Amazon offered a 35 pence per hour pay raise which equates to an 8% pay cut allowing for inflation. "In the three months to June, the online retailer recorded sales of £106 billion, 11 per cent higher than in 2022"

[@deanbooker5778]

No accountability, no care, no compassion....

[@TheBlade1977]

HR protect the company not the employee. It’s really that simple.

[@gabrielruffin1448]

So True

[@MartinParnham]

It makes me laugh when people say “we respect workers’ right to be in a trade union but…” as if they need to affirm it. Shouldn’t really have to say that. Also, the “but” usually means that what follows completely contradicts that.

[@dandominare]

"I've shown up to represent my global juggernaut employer at a committee hearing about unions and strikes, but no, I can't actually remember why our workers went on strike - soz lol" It's pathetic.

[@spikeyuk2011]

I think that proves that they do not care about their employees considering that they lack the knowledge as to why their staff are on strike. If you cared, you would know...

[@Guido1970]

Cancelled my Amazon account on the basis of this smirk, vile.

[@goinblinddoggone]

Perfect demonstration for the invention of the thumb screw

[@jesmarina]

- "Everybody thinks we're a great company to work for for - we even won an award!!! Please thank us for being in your country." - "Why did your workers go on strike?" - "..........don't know" The arrogance is simply incredible.

[@ThatCasulGuy]

The HR director for the UK doesn't know what the stated legal reason for a strike was...Either he is incompetent or openly dishonest.

[@PeterAstley-ph2qq]

They're not "locations" they're "fulfillment centres".

[@stevepipenger4651]

Translation for that last question: We know you're lying. Are you sure you don't to admit you're lying and tell us what is on the paperwork the union supplied to you?

[@HypatiaMuse]

A business model based on instant gratification where people feel entitled to having whatever they want to order delivered to their door the next day is inevitably going to be a system of human stress and misery for the people employed to fulfill these orders. It was depressing to read the comment section under the recent story about the Amazon worker that was so burnt out they dumped a bunch of packages in the woods and went home. A large percentage of people were more outraged at the thought of not getting their treats delivered instantly than concern for workers' mental and physical health, or thinking to ask themselves that maybe Amazon is an evil company.

[@KyrilPG]

I disagree, it's like the persons who choose the tracks of a busy subway line at rush hour to unalive themselves. It's absolutely tragic, and everyone even remotely human would have empathy, but do these persons have to inflict that on others? They should do something against the company, not against the clients.

[@HypatiaMuse]

@KyrilPG I'd call getting your cheaply-made goods delayed a first world problem, especially compared to what Amazon workers have to go through and the greed and corruption of the company itself. Workers are standing up to Amazon now, the company sprayed them with water in the freezing cold and refuses to negotiate a union contract. They have also retaliated against people for unionizing, they are an evil company. Buy local.

[@LindenG-u1k]

Sorry you had such a reply. Shows the type of customers Amazon has.

[@alien4422]

I used to have Amazon Prime and use their food delivery service and quite a lot of the people who delivered my food did not grasp what door to door delivery actually means. I live in flats but there are lifts but in the end I stopped using the service due to drivers ringing me and expecting me to go to the ground floor to collect my shopping! I myself have had many delivery jobs in my youth including Royal Mail and Pizza delivery jobs. But these Amazon drivers started to stress me out as every other delivery was turning into a confrontation.

[@KyrilPG]

@@LindenG-u1k If that's referring to my comment : I barely ever order on Amazon and don't need instant delivery since I'm frugal and poor. The only time in 2024 was a part for my wheelchair and a replacement remote to control the lights. It's just that whatever the issue may be, inflicting it on others is simply bad. It's easy, convenient, and self-fluffing to think that customers are all entitled people ordering gadgets on same day or next day delivery : you don't know that, and neither does the OP. Amazon and other delivery services are also used by many people with disabilities ordering useful things. Many of their customers also are burnt out employees...

[@Gazdavies48]

Politicians that won’t answer a straight question gets miffed when CEO won’t answer the question straight. Oh the irony 🤔

[@marinman3551]

Its an American company....which are well known for being atrocious in worker involvement and treatment of employees....qiuck comparison...what they call BENIFITS we call RIGHTS....!

[@infour44]

Further confirmation that evil does walk amongst us. The same kind of people run United Healthcare in The US.

[@Osindileyo]

Wow, they did everything they could to try get out of answering that one simple question. What are the chances they lose their jobs after this embarrassment

[@BogardanLord]

none😌😂

[@jonsmith5058]

Why would they lose their jobs? They performed their jobs wonderfully. Amazon doesnt want them to go there and answer truthfully. They want them to go there and avoid and deflect every question that could have a damaging answer.

[@JDW65744]

None. They’ve done well in corporate’s eyes. Stall and obfuscate and hide the actual truth.

[@thegingerpirate]

0

[@redhandtheblack]

More chance of a pay rise.

[@davidclark1545]

So an Amazon Executive did what MPs do, avoided answering a question, and they get upset. Really?

[@Mitjitsu]

Sadly, what most people don't realize is these practices are industry wide. There's far worse employers out there than them when it comes to this line of work.

[@antestyle101]

Proof how inept the people are in high roles running these companies.Cant even answer a basic question!

[@damienx0x]

They're not inept. They're deliberately not answering the question.

[@Xander-86]

They are not inept, they just don't wanna answer because they know they wouldn't be honest with their answer.

[@Scoobydcs]

Billionaires should not exist. I want my standard of living back!!!

[@williamkeane255]

The HR director is either incompetent or lying either way there should be recourse for this.

[@alberthawkins1240]

"We would comply", you'd have no bloody choice!

[@raylder6339]

Has this vacuous fop written back and has their response been published?

[@yt.personal.identification]

If they don't know the difference WHAT and WHY then they clearly aren't qualified to listen to 6 year olds read a book.

[@shakinsherlock66]

HR,.... Company Snakes

[@titularhero]

How do they not knoe the resaon their workers went on strike... it woukd be a pretty useless strike if that were true.... what are they hiding.

[@snoopbob3497]

I wonder how much these soulless cyborgs get paid.

[@lonevoice]

Unbelievable! Why on earth does Amazon recruit senior people who don't appear to have a clue about what's going on?

[@UKRenna]

They do know, but they don’t want to say.