Amazon warehouse managers threw employees holiday perks such as gingerbread house-building contests while working them so hard they had to be ordered to make time to bathe, according to a report.
The Washington Post reported the retail giant threw out the feel-good concessions while ordering mandatory overtime during the busiest rush of the year.
"It was part of a corporate feel-good blitz aimed at boosting morale during the mandatory extra hours the company requires during the holidays," the report claimed.
But the 'feel-good" was only on the surface, the report noted.
"As many white-collar workers log back on to work after the holiday break, Amazon staffers are reeling from the annual crush known internally as 'peak,' which runs from November’s Black Friday discounts through the flood of returned gifts in January," the Post wrote.
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"Managers in one Ohio warehouse felt the need to post a notice reminding workers to shower and use deodorant."
In a twist of irony, The Washington Post itself is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, one of the wealthiest men in the world — and the paper is currently facing criticism and a spate of resignations for his editorial interference in political content the paper is allowed to publish, all the while trying to cozy up with the incoming Trump administration.
Amazon, and the U.S. logistics industry writ large, have become notorious for putting massive demands on fulfillment workers to work long hours and at high speeds.
In one of the most highly-publicized recent examples, Amazon came under fire for refusing to approve time off for an employee in Mobile, Alabama who had been seriously injured in the New Years Day terrorist attack in New Orleans. After a public uproar, the company reversed course and her time off, with pay.
