Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on Saturday penned down a memo to his employees wherein he highlighted the steps that his company was taking to ensure the safety of the warehouse workers and contractual staff.
In a letter shared on Instagram, Bezos said that Amazon was hiring 100,000 new employees for various new roles within the company and that it was raising the wages for hourly workers who were delivering orders ‘during this period of stress and turmoil’.
He also said that Amazon had implemented a series of preventive measures, which includes increasing the frequency and intensity of cleaning and adjusting practices in warehouses to comply with the recommended social distancing guidelines, to ensure the safety of its employees.
“We’ve placed purchase orders for millions of face masks we want to give to our employees and contractors who cannot work from home, but very few of those orders have been filled. Masks remain in short supply globally and are at this point being directed by governments to the highest needed facilities like hospitals and clinics,” Jeff Bezos wrote in his letter.
“When our turn for masks comes, our first priority will be getting them in the hands of our employees and partners working to get essential products to people,” he added.
While thanking Amazon employees for their efforts, Bezos said that things are likely to get worse before they get better. “…I am sad to tell you that things are going to get worse before they get better…Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones. I know that we are going to get through this together,” he added.
