Amazon News: Exec Retorts John Oliver Report Of 'Brutal' Working Conditions, Calls It 'Insulting' To Employees

An Amazon (AMZN) executive on Monday criticized the latest episode of HBO's "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" which focused on the e-commerce giant's working conditions, describing the segment as "insulting" to the company's employees. The episode, which aired Sunday, took aim at grueling conditions at Amazon warehouses as well as the low pay for workers.

"As a fan of the show, I enjoy watching John make an entertaining case for the failings of companies, governments and most recently – Mount Everest. But he is wrong on Amazon. Industry-leading $15 minimum wage and comprehensive benefits are just some of the many benefits we offer… " said Dave Clark, Amazon's senior vice president of Worldwide Operations.

Twitter users struck back at Clark's statement, calling him "out of touch" and saying that $15 an hour doesn't go far in the Seattle, where Amazon is headquartered.

"The more you look at Amazon, the more you realize its convenience comes with a real cost," Oliver said in the segment. He added that Amazon has created a system that "squeezes the people on the lowest on the ladder hard, and all the while the man behind Amazon is now worth $118 billion, more than anyone else in the world," referring to CEO Jeff Bezos.

The show focused primarily on the warehouse industry.

"The injury and illness rate in the warehouse industry is higher than coal mining, construction and logging," Oliver said.

He also lambasted the company for monitoring the bathroom breaks of its employees, calling the company's working conditions "brutal."

Amazon warehouse workers in New York City have sought to unionize with the last year — a move that has been discouraged by the company. Amazon employee Rashad Long said workers are sometimes required to work 12-hour shifts for five or six consecutive days.

"We are not robots. We are human beings. We cannot come into work after only four hours of sleep and be expected to be fully energized and ready to work. That’s impossible," Long said in a statement in January. "I feel like all the company cares about is getting their products out to the customers as quickly humanly as possible, no matter what that means for us workers in the end."

Amazon has come under fire from Capitol Hill, as well. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York recently said the company pays its employees "starvation wages." President Trump in May 2018 attacked Amazon for not paying enough in taxes.