A worker sorts packages in an outbound terminal at an Amazon fulfillment center in Eastvale, California on Tuesday, August 31, 2021.
Watchara Phomicinda | MediaNews Group | The Riverside Press-Enterprise via Getty Images
AmazonAccording to CNBC, the top executive overseeing workplace health and safety will leave the company next month.
Heather MacDougall, who joined Amazon in 2019 from the Occupational Health and Safety Review Committee, will leave the company on October 7, according to a memo that John Felton, Amazon’s head of operations , wrote employees on Monday.
“After building with us for over three years as a key member of our leadership team, Heather has decided to pursue other opportunities outside of Amazon,” Felton wrote in the memo. remember being watched by CNBC. “I want to thank her for her many contributions, and I wish her well on the next step in her journey.”
An Amazon spokesperson confirmed MacDougall’s departure.
MacDougall oversees the health and safety of Amazon’s global workforce of more than 1.5 million employees at a critical time. In early 2020, as Covid-19 was spreading rapidly, causing businesses and office buildings to temporarily close, Amazon warehouse and delivery workers continued to report working for people’s needs. Increased consumption for prompt delivery.
Workers be censured the company’s coronavirus response, arguing that it hasn’t done enough to protect them at work, and that Amazon has faced widespread scrutiny for injury rates in its warehouses. Workers, labor groups and lawmakers have complained that the company prioritizes speed over safety, which puts employees at risk. higher risk of injury than opponents. Concern about workplace safety is one of the main driving forces behind wave organization at Amazon warehouses.
Amazon has objected to reports of unsafe working conditions. During MacDougall’s tenure, the company set ambitious goals for injury reduction, including a plan to cut recordable incident rates, an OSHA measurement that includes injuries and illnesses, by 2025. Last year Amazon committed to become “Earth’s Best Employer,” adding it to the company’s list of values, even as labor unrest grows.
Prior to his tenure at Amazon, MacDougall served two terms as head of OSHRC, a federal agency responsible for reviewing workplace health and safety disputes between users. employment and the Ministry of Labor. She was appointed to lead the agency by the Obama administration in 2013.
MacDougall also forges relationships with well-known safety organizations to strengthen Amazon’s safety image. In June 2021, Amazon and the National Safety Council announced The partnership aims to reduce sprains and strains common in warehouse workers.
Becky Gansert, who serves as vice president of global expertise completion, will replace MacDougall as global head of workplace health and safety. Gansert will also oversee Amazon learning and development teams, tasked with “improving the day-to-day experience” of warehouse and delivery workers, among other tasks.
“Safety and the overall connected experience are complexly linked priorities, and Becky is uniquely qualified to push us forward with both,” Felton said.
