Amazon has been accused of using an internal AI tool called Atlas to track employees and rank how likely warehouse workers are to form unions in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada, according to documents released in court proceedings between the company and Canadian union Unifor.
Here's what to know
Citing court documents shared by openDemocracy, Novara Media said Atlas scores Amazon warehouses for union risk.
According to the training material, sites receive scores from 100 to 900. Lower scores signal a higher chance of unionization.
In the document, Atlas is described as a "labour risk framework to clarify how Amazon evaluates emerging workforce issues, labour union targets, and internal or external labour threats."
Leigh Day partner Michael Newman told openDemocracy that the language "makes it clear that they think the union is bad."
More background
The framework uses five tiers: Tier 1 covers workplace disruption and "imminent" worker action, while tier 5 indicates "no immediate perceived risk."
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Amazon can reportedly use those categories for staffing, for resource planning, and to "mitigate risks" related to organizing activity.
The material identifies two Amazon warehouses in the U.K. and 14 in the U.S. and Canada as tier 1 sites.
Among the U.K. locations, BHX4 near Coventry was flagged for an "active organising campaign," and EMA4 in Sutton Coldfield was noted for strike action.
The Atlas dispute also comes amid broad scrutiny of artificial intelligence.
While the technology can help optimize operations and even improve clean energy forecasting and grid management, AI also depends on power-hungry data centers and heavy water use for cooling. There are concerns about rising household energy costs and pollution, as well as misuse and security lapses.
What's being done?
Court proceedings involving Unifor brought the Atlas document into public view, exposing internal Amazon training material and giving labor groups new grounds to challenge the company's response to organizing.
The GMB Union accused Amazon of using "Orwellian" AI tools to spy on workers.
An Amazon spokesperson told openDemocracy that Atlas is not used to counter union activity or monitor individual workers, adding that the company does not "track individual employees' opinions, affiliations, or union membership" but uses the tool to "help us understand where associates need more support and to ensure we're addressing issues that they raise."
Where can I learn more?
Amazon has drawn broad scrutiny from workers and communities.
• In Oregon, an Amazon warehouse raised traffic and worker safety concerns.
• Amazon employees sounded off about AI expansion and its environmental toll.
• Inside Amazon, workers reportedly built a rogue AI agent to burn tokens.
• More than 1,000 Amazon employees signed a letter against Amazon's AI and surveillance plans.
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