An Amazon worker at a New Jersey warehouse died during last week's $12 billion U.S. Prime Day bonanza, the company confirmed in a statement Tuesday.
Details on the employee's death were not immediately made available, nor was the person identified.
“We’re deeply saddened by the passing of one of our colleagues and offer our condolences to his family and friends during this difficult time," Amazon spokesman Sam Stephenson said in a statement. "We’ve contacted his family to offer support and will provide counseling resources to employees needing additional care."
According to NJ.com, the worker died July 12 and worked at the company's fulfillment center on Carteret's Industrial Highway.
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death.
On Monday, federal inspectors with OSHA, the Labor Department's division tasked with policing workplace safety, investigated Amazon warehouses in New York City, Orlando and Chicago in response to referrals they had received from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York probing working conditions at the e-commerce giant's sprawling facilities, CNBC reports.
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Nicholas Biase, a spokesman for the SDNY, told NBC News the investigation includes "possible fraudulent conduct designed to hide injuries from OSHA and others."
Local
Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel told CNBC in a statement: "We'll of course cooperate with OSHA in their investigation, and we believe it will ultimately show that these concerns are unfounded."
Seattle-based Amazon has come under fire over the years over workplace requirements that increase risk of injury. Warehouse employees and delivery drivers have long complained of the increasingly aggressive pace of work to meet unreasonable productivity quotas or face disciplinary measures, which prevent them from taking adequate bathroom breaks.
Amazon has denied that it uses productivity quotas in its warehouses, and disputed reports of unsafe working conditions.
Federal inspectors urged current and former Amazon warehouse employees to report safety concerns, specifically regarding issues and injuries stemming from the pace of work in warehouses, via an online form.
