Workers at seven Amazon (AMZN) facilities across the U.S. went on strike this week as the Teamsters union aimed to make a statement during the peak holiday season. The walkouts occurred in Staten Island, Atlanta, Skokie, San Francisco, and parts of Southern California, marking the largest coordinated strike yet at the e-commerce giant. Meanwhile, Amazon insisted the strikes would not disrupt operations since most of the participants were outside organizers.
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Furthermore, executive Kelly Nantel added that deliveries remain unaffected by the strikes. Amazon also stated that it has invested over $2.2 billion in wages and benefits in 2024, which it called the company’s largest annual investment ever.
The Teamsters claimed the strike was necessary due to Amazon’s refusal to bargain with thousands of unionized workers. Teamsters President Sean O’Brien blamed delays on “Amazon’s insatiable greed,” saying that the company ignored a deadline to negotiate.
Amazon Settles with OSHA
In a separate development related to employees, Amazon announced that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has agreed to withdraw all but one of the ergonomic citations issued against the company, therefore ending its investigation into Amazon’s safety practices. The settlement follows Amazon’s full cooperation, during which the company provided thousands of documents, years of data, and detailed safety records.
As part of the settlement, Amazon will continue working with its team of certified ergonomists to make sure employees across its network are complying with the rules. The company also plans to maintain its Associate Safety Committees, mandatory ergonomics training programs, and rigorous risk assessments to identify and address safety issues.
Is Amazon Stock Expected to Rise?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on AMZN stock based on 45 Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 46% rally in its share price over the past year, the average AMZN price target of $245.10 per share implies 9% upside potential.
