Exactly. These are choices Amazon made - same as temp workers and building features
Amazon's choice to use temp workers as "throwaway employees" is similar to Walmart's choice and markedly different from Costco's:
http://crooksandliars.com/kenneth-quinnell/warehouse-workers-abused-walmart-
Some companies, like Costco, refuse to use temp workers in their warehouses:
Costco's well-earned reputation for treating its in-store employees well carries over to its warehouse. The Costco warehouse does not rely on temp workers. It hires employees directly, it pays pretty well and it has a safety representative and even stretching classes. Despite all that, the company still manages to provide some of the lowest prices available to consumers.
"We tend to not outsource even if we could save money by doing it," says Richard Galanti, Costco's chief financial officer. "We recognize it might cost more but we think it's the right thing to do. ... Everyone in the building feels like they're employed."
As to comments about how warehouses are built, sustainability efforts can benefit the employees and the environment and even provide additional benefits:
Again from Costco for the warehouse comparison - 2011 report:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:eK1BVVSfLOUJ:http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File%3Fitem%3DUGFyZW50SUQ9MTE5MTk0fENoaWxkSUQ9LTF8VHlwZT0z%26t%3D1%2Bcostco+cseg&client=safari&rls=en&oe=UTF-8&gs_l=serp.3...237792.242154.0.242513.11.1.0.10.0.0.306.306.3-1.1.0...0.0.3SHFAMdqR8M&hl=en&ct=clnk
Sustainable Construction and Renewable Energy
The organization Leadership in Energy andEnvironmental Design (LEED) has a certification program that is nationally accepted as a benchmarkfor green building design and construction. Costco’s metal warehouse design, one of the warehousedesign styles we have built over the past several years, is consistent with the requirements of theSilver Level LEED Standard. Our metal building envelopes are all insulated to meet or exceed currentenergy code requirements, and our main building structure uses 100% recycled steel material and isdesigned to minimize the amount of material utilized. The roof materials used on our metalpre-engineered warehouse are 100% recycled standing seam metal panels, designed to maximizeefficiency for spanning the structure; and the exterior skin of the building is also 100% recycled metal.In 2008, we opened our first certified Silver Level warehouse in New Jersey. With regard to renewableenergy, by the end of calendar 2011 we will have in operation large rooftop solar photovoltaic systemsat 60 of our facilities, in Hawaii, California, New Mexico, and New Jersey. They are projected togenerate 55 million kWh of electricity per year. We also continue to expand the use of non-chemicalwater treatment systems used in our cooling towers to both reduce the amount of chemicals going intosewer systems and, where possible, reuse that water for site irrigation. By coordinating with state andfederal incentive programs, these and other energy-saving systems help us reduce our carbon footprintand lower the cost of operating our facilities. We continue to evaluate additional opportunities toimprove energy efficiency.
Insulated warehouses that produce energy - not only possible but built and operating.
