• “… Amazon constantly monitors workers’ performance. Here’s how the performance monitoring program works: Amazon employees scan every item they put into storage, retrieve, or pack into a package. This scanning process is recorded down to the second and displayed to a supervisor. This allows the supervisor to monitor every step of the employees’ work and see whether a particular worker is packing enough packages to meet the average rate. The supervisor can also see on their display if someone stops working for even a few minutes. If the overall pace isn’t fast enough, the supervisor intervenes. (…) Workers are apparently compared on this basis. Although there is officially no piecework, this creates de facto intense pressure to process as many packages as possible. (…) The result: a continuously rising average rate that employees must strive to meet. “Someone who is still fast enough today to keep their job may be too slow tomorrow—and thus face being let go…” Article by Sebastian Friedrich and Johannes Jolmes from October 15, 2020, on tagesschau.de from the “Panorama” broadcast on October 15, 2020; see also regarding both workers and customers:
  • [Internal company documents from Canada] Amazon uses AI to spy on its employees and crush unions before they form New
    “Internal company documents in the possession of a Canadian labor agency show how Amazon tracks its employees’ every move.
    The 18th-century concept of the panopticon—a circular prison design with a guard post in the center, allowing a single officer to maintain discipline by monitoring all prisoners—has become a reality in the 21st century through AI-driven surveillance of workers: the Amazon warehouse.
    It should come as no surprise that the company that used technology to build a massive, $2.7 trillion empire employs the same sophistication to enforce discipline in the workplace and nip budding unionization efforts in the bud. A recent leak of internal “employee relations” documents from Amazon reveals just how extreme Amazon’s methods of warehouse surveillance and control have become.
    Amazon uses the so-called “Atlas” model, in which a nearly unimaginable amount of information about employees—their thoughts and behavior, the work environment, and countless other factors—is fed into a computer-based model—according to the company, “hundreds of data points.” Atlas not only provides a detailed assessment of current unrest among employees, location by location worldwide, but also a predictive model for future union organizing efforts. It’s like the “Precrime” police in the movie “Minority Report,” which uses extrasensory powers to identify and arrest potential criminals before they strike —except that in this case, it’s an AI-powered tool used by the billionaire owners of one of the wealthiest companies in history to nip uprisings among their low-wage workers in the bud. And this isn’t just Tom Cruise acting; it’s very real.
    Workers everywhere who have ever had to endure anti-union campaigns can relate to stories of excessive surveillance by management; however, the “Atlas” model takes this surveillance to a whole new level.
    Details about the “Atlas” model recently came to light as a result of a legal dispute between Amazon and Unifor, the Canadian private-sector union. (…) This battle is still ongoing, but as a result of the court proceedings, Amazon was required to hand over documents to the labor inspectorate and to Unifor. Unifor has shared these documents with Truthout; they can be viewed here externer Link     …” English article by Jonathan Rosenblum dated September 30, 2026 , on Truthout externer Link (“Amazon Is Deploying AI to Spy on Its Workers and Bust Unions Before They Form,” machine-translated) and related to this:
  • Office Attendance: Amazon Monitors Employees with New Attendance Dashboard
    “Amazon managers can now see, at the click of a button, who is in the office and for how long. The company categorizes employees based on their behavior.
    Amazon has introduced a new monitoring system that gives managers detailed insights into their teams’ office attendance. The dashboard, which was rolled out in December, tracks not only whether employees come to the office, but also how long they stay and which locations they use, as reported by Business Insider externer Link .
    The system updates daily at 5 p.m. and analyzes patterns over an eight-week period. Employees are divided into three categories: “Low-Time Badgers” spend less than four hours a day in the office, “Zero Badgers” do not check in at all over an eight-week period, and “Unassigned Building Badgers” predominantly use locations other than those assigned to them.
    Five-Day Mandatory Office Presence Is Strictly Enforced
     Last year, Amazon introduced one of the strictest return-to-office policies in the tech sector: Most employees must be on-site five days a week. A company spokesperson emphasized that similar tools have been available for more than a year to identify employees who need “support with office attendance,” as it is euphemistically called. (…)
    Amazon began collecting individual attendance data in 2023. In 2024, the company cracked down on “coffee badging”—brief office visits made solely to clock in—by requiring certain teams to stay for at least two to six hours so that their attendance would     count…” Article by Andreas Donath from January 10, 2026 , in Golem externer Link
  • Christy Hoffman (UNI) on deadly working conditions and the collective bargaining struggle in Germany: “Amazon Engages in Nearly Total Surveillance”
    UNI Global Union General Secretary Christy Hoffman in an interview with Christy Hoffman on October 10, 2024, for the JPG-Journal online externer Link (translated by Ina Goertz) on the U.S. corporation’s illegal tactics, grueling working conditions, and the collective bargaining struggle in Germany: “The fight for better working conditions at Amazon—higher wages, workplace safety, and an end to relentless stress—is being waged with great determination around the world. In fact, over the past five years, we have seen a massive surge in activism by workers and unions. Furthermore, awareness has grown throughout civil society that inhumane conditions arise whenever Amazon sets up operations in a city. (…) But although Amazon workers are fighting with every means at their disposal for the right to union representation, far too few of them are covered by collective bargaining agreements. In Canada, the Unifor union has won the right for Amazon workers in British Columbia to vote on whether to join the union and is fighting against the company’s anti-union campaign. The Confédération des syndicats nationaux in Quebec won the recognition election in May and now represents 200 Amazon workers—again, following a difficult campaign. In the United Kingdom, the GMB union and Amazon workers are fighting back against the company’s brutal campaign to suppress the union. In Germany, the mobilization campaign continues, but collective bargaining negotiations still seem a long way off. In India, Amazon workers are demanding wage increases and better working conditions. In France and Italy, where sector-wide collective bargaining agreements exist, workers have been able to secure better working conditions through strikes and protests and to negotiate for better rights. In Italy, an agreement was even reached with the unions. In short, sustained efforts and ongoing solidarity have led to better conditions in some areas. But Amazon’s anti-worker strategies show that we must continue to support union organizing and also expose Amazon’s violations of labor rights. (…) Amazon engages in near-total surveillance. Combined with sophisticated algorithmic management tools, this enables the company to monitor, pressure, and occasionally discipline its workers. Amazon is a leader in developing these sophisticated tools, which have been dubbed “bossware” and are also being adopted by many other companies. This is the top issue at most workplaces, and unions are seeking to counter it with various demands. In many countries, legal action is being considered to limit surveillance and the pressure that comes with it. Several U.S. states have already enacted laws to protect warehouse workers, ensuring that these employees can take their breaks. Many regulatory agencies responsible for occupational health and safety have already intervened and are insisting that Amazon address the physical and psychological harm caused by its brutal system. Some works councils have already succeeded in slightly lowering the daily quotas. And ideally, workers could use collective bargaining to set their working conditions and enforce health and safety rules without fear of retaliation. (…) To bring Amazon to the negotiating table, sustained pressure from ver.di, combined with broader support from the public, policymakers, and regulatory authorities, is necessary. I am confident that workers in Germany will succeed in their efforts.”
  • More than 20 unions from 11 European countries are calling on data protection authorities to stop Amazon’s invasive surveillance . “In
    an unprecedented move, more than 20 leading representatives of major unions across Europe—representing more than eight million workers—are calling on European data protection authorities to step up oversight of Amazon’s abusive—and potentially illegal—data surveillance practices. This collective initiative underscores growing concern about how Amazon’s practices are undermining workers’ rights and workplace safety.
    Union leaders from 11 European countries—where Amazon’s warehouses and delivery operations employ a significant number of workers—are sounding the alarm about the company’s pervasive surveillance and algorithmic management. These invasive measures include the widespread use of handheld scanners, activity-monitoring software, video cameras, GPS devices, and other tracking technologies. Recent studies have shown that this surveillance has serious consequences for workers’ mental and physical health.
    The union leaders pointed to recent regulatory actions and cited the decision by the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) on December 27, 2023, which found that Amazon France Logistique was in violation of several principles of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The CNIL imposed a substantial fine of 32 million euros for establishing an “excessively intrusive system” to monitor employee activities and performance,     as well as penalties for inadequate video surveillance protocols.
    “We call on you, the European data protection authorities, to follow France’s example and investigate the legality of Amazon’s use of employee data, and to take action to stop practices that violate the law. We ask you to ensure that Amazon complies with European legislation that protects workers’ fundamental rights and freedoms, including the right to privacy and control over their data,” the signatories write in a letter submitted to data protection authorities across the EU.
    This is not Amazon’s first run-in with European data protection laws. In 2021, the Luxembourg data protection authority imposed a fine of 746 million euros on the company for similar surveillance practices affecting European consumers, which at the time was the highest fine in the history of the law.
    The unions are calling on all European data protection authorities to follow France’s proactive lead by investigating the legality of Amazon’s surveillance tactics and taking action to curb unlawful activities. Their appeal underscores the need for Amazon to comply with European legislation protecting workers’ fundamental rights, including privacy and data control. Union leaders pledged to work with European authorities to enforce the data rights of Amazon workers, thereby sending a clear message that excessive workplace surveillance is unacceptable and will be challenged     …” UNI Europa press release dated May 7, 2024 externer Link (machine-translated)