Fairwork Amazon Report 2024 Transformation of the Warehouse Sector through AI

Aleah (not her real name) is an Amazon “Warehouse Associate”, working at one of the many fulfilment centres based in the UK.1 Associates, also referred to as “Warehouse Operatives” by Amazon, are the workers who receive and stow products, and pick and pack them for customers, before they are sent to another node in Amazon’s supply chain for last-mile delivery. In the words of the company, associates are “essential”; they “literally bring customers’ orders to life, every day”.2 Working in an “on task” role (also referred to as a “direct” role), Aleah and associates like her, are subject to an algorithmically determined, pace-based target, colloquially referred to as the “rate”. Aleah doesn’t really know how the “rate” is calculated. All she knows is that she needs to hit an acceptable pace to avoid coaching and potential disciplinary action, including receiving a negative ADAPT. ADAPT stands for Associate Development and Performance Tracker. According to the limited public information available and data collected for this research, ADAPT is a software used by management to track employee performance and provide positive and negative validation across a range of dimensions including productivity, quality, safety and behaviour.