Amazon Accused of Concealing Worker’s Death for a Week While Employees Continued Working Near Corpse

Amazon’s warehouse operations have faced persistent criticism over high injury rates and safety concerns. A 2024 investigation led by Senator Bernie Sanders, a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, accused the company of prioritizing productivity over employee safety—a claim Amazon denied at the time.

Now, a new investigation by The Western Edge alleges that Amazon attempted to suppress the news of a worker’s death at its Troutdale, Oregon, distribution center on April 6. The outlet reports the incident for the first time one week later.

According to the investigation, an employee identified only as Sam witnessed a coworker lying lifeless on the floor. Despite Sam’s offer to help, their supervisor instructed workers to “please get back to work” and “turn around and not look.” Sam recalled that even the supervisor appeared visibly distressed, with tears in their eyes.

A female coworker reportedly rushed to perform chest compressions on the collapsed worker. Sam, trained in CPR, urged others to assist her, stating:

“I start sobbing and said, ‘I want to help, please!’ I know she’s going to get tired and need to be subbed out. It has to be management or safety team.”

The supervisor responded by reiterating the instruction to ignore the scene and return to work.

First responders eventually arrived, but the incident left employees shaken. Some criticized middle management for what they described as a callous and inadequate response.

Recent Warehouse Fires and Ongoing Safety Concerns

The news follows a separate incident where a man set fire to a 1.2-million-square-foot Amazon warehouse filled with flammable paper products. Footage showed him igniting stacks of toilet paper while shouting that “all you had to do was pay us enough to live.”

Amazon has repeatedly denied responsibility for worker deaths at its facilities, including lawsuits filed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which have largely ruled in the company’s favor.

Alleged Safety Violations at Troutdale Facility

Workers at the Troutdale warehouse also alleged that sound-dampening materials installed to reduce noise for nearby offices blocked airflow, leading to extreme temperatures inside the facility. In 2019, the Portland Mercury described the warehouse as “notoriously dangerous.”

The deceased worker was identified as a “tote runner,” a role requiring the manual transport of large yellow plastic bins—a physically demanding task. Authorities have not yet determined the cause of death.

Supervisors allegedly withheld the news of the worker’s death from employees for several hours. Staff, including those aware of the incident, were sent home at the end of their 3:45 pm break, meaning many continued working for hours after the death occurred.

“Truthfully, I now have even less respect for our leadership team.”