Nearly 200 Amazon warehouse employees have called 911 for mental health episodes on the job

Jackie Drees -

Amazon warehouse employees over the past five years made 189 calls to 911 dispatchers for mental health episodes, including suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, according to the Daily Beast.

The 911 calls were made from 46 Amazon warehouses in 17 states between October 2013-18, according to 911 call logs, ambulance and police reports, the Daily Beast reports.

Amazon has previously faced criticism for poor working conditions at its warehouses, such as strict production time requirements that led some employees to urinate in bottles.

"It's this isolating colony of hell where people having breakdowns is a regular occurrence," Jace Crouch, a former Amazon warehouse employee who had an emotional crisis on the job, told the Daily Beast. "[It's] mentally taxing to do the same task superfast for 10-hour shifts, four or five days a week."

In a statement to the Daily Beast, Amazon said the number of 911 calls is an "overgeneralization [that] doesn't take into account the total of our associate population, hours worked or our growing network." Across all divisions, Amazon has 647,000 employees worldwide, according to Vox.  

The company affirmed its commitment to employee health, adding, "We provide comprehensive medical care starting on day one so employees have access to the care when they need it most, 24-hour a day free and confidential counseling services, and various leave and medical accommodation options covering both mental and physical health concerns."

Amazon ramped up several of its healthcare efforts last year, including its joint healthcare venture Haven with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase, which aims to make care better and more affordable for employees.

To view the full report, click here.

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