Amazon Accused of Using AI to Monitor Union Activity
Documents reveal Amazon deployed 'Atlas', an AI system scoring warehouse unionization risks using internal comms and external data like Reddit, with two UK sites flagged as imminent risk.
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According to TechRadar, Amazon has been accused of deploying an AI-powered algorithm named "Atlas" to monitor and assess the risk of unionization among workers in warehouses globally.
The system aggregates hundreds of data points, including internal "Voice of the Associate" boards, health and safety incidents, wage rates, and even sentiment analysis from external forums like Reddit. Warehouses are scored on a scale from Tier 5 (no risk) to Tier 1 (imminent risk). Two UK sites in Coventry and Minworth were designated Tier 1 due to their collaboration with the GMB Union.
Legal experts warn that processing trade union membership data falls under special category data per GDPR Article 9 in the UK, requiring strict safeguards. Failure to transparently notify employees about this AI surveillance could violate data protection principles. Amazon has not yet responded to requests for comment.