Plight of Amazon’s Migrant Workers in Saudi Arabia Comes to Light
More than 20 share horrifying details on abuse at work, bug-infested housing and exploitation - all allegedly known to Amazon
Momtaj Mansur by his home in Dhanusha, in southeast Nepal. Photo Credits: Pramod Acharya
The gruesome plight of contracted workers in Amazon warehouses in Saudi Arabia has come to light, following a migrant worker sharing his story, along with others, on how they were deceived and exploited into a job that didn’t pay what was promised, while they struggled to make ends meet in horrific living conditions.
Momtaj Mansur, a Nepali, flew out to Saudi Arabia two years ago with hopeful dreams of making it big for himself and his family, which he states were rightfully justified back then. He landed a job at one of the world’s biggest companies, ‘Amazon’ by working in its warehouse in Riyadh.
However, things quickly went downhill as soon as he landed with Mansur realizing he was not a direct employee of Amazon, but was in contract with a Saudi labor supply company.
Mansur, along with 20 other employees from Nepal who worked in Amazon’s warehouses in Riyadh or Jeddah between the years 2021-2023, have been interviewed on their experience of being hired by two third-party labor supply contractors – Abdullah Fahad Al-Mutairi Support Services Co. (Al-Mutairi), or Basmah Al-Musanada Co. for Technical Support Services (Basmah).
According to their accounts, some began to suspect that Amazon was not their direct employer when they received their contracts and documentation just hours before they were due to fly, but having already paid recruitment fees felt they had no choice but to continue. Others came to know after landing in Saudi Arabia.
The workers have been interviewed as part of an international reporting collaboration, where to substantiate their accounts, journalists reviewed photographs, emails, receipts, as well as any documentation relating to their employment at Amazon.
Among the horrifying discoveries made was the mistreatment the workers were subjected to at their work premises. They said they worked long days in vast warehouses and were discouraged from taking water or toilet breaks.
Besides that, they were allegedly housed in roach-infested bunkhouses, where six to eight workers were forced to share accommodation. The workers, many of whom are anonymous, stated that the water supply in their housing was unreliable, and salty and would give them rashes.
Mansur stated how his plight only worsened when he, along with several others, were suddenly laid off from their jobs in May 2022.
Without work and not enough food, the 23-year-old was desperate to head back home.
However, his woes were only to escalate, following the demand of his company to pay an exit fee of more than $1300 as a penalty for having to leave before the conclusion of his two-year contract.
“I told them: Either kill us or send us home, but don’t give us so much pain.”
A few of his co-workers even contemplated suicide. One recalled, “I tried to jump from the wall, I tried to kill myself. I told my mum and she said ‘Don’t, we will get a loan’. Already it is eight months since she took a loan and the interest is piling up.”
While Mansur’s family managed to pay the exit fee by increasing their debt as they took out a loan at 36 percent interest, the heartbroken young man, who is back home, is still coming to terms with the anguish he had to endure in the Arabian Peninsula.
Amazon’s Response
Upon being presented with the findings, Amazon told a news outlet it had conducted its own investigation as well and has affirmed that there were labor violations.
“We are deeply concerned that some of our contract workers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia … were not treated with the standards we set forth, and the dignity and respect they deserve,” John Felton, Amazon’s senior vice president of worldwide operations, said in a written statement.
While the company has declined to offer more details about its own research, it has promised to make ‘significant changes’ to how its operations in collaboration with Saudi labor companies like Al-Mutairi will continue.
According to Amnesty International, Amazon was well aware of the high risk of labor abuses in Saudi Arabia on account of an Amazon Risk Assessment conducted in 2021.
One worker has reportedly stated, “Amazon knows each and every problem we have with the supply company. Amazon asks workers about the problems and issues they face during daily meetings.”
Amazon entered the Saudi Arabian market in 2017 when it purchased the Middle Eastern online retail giant Souq.com. It boosted its labor force by bringing in workers from Asian countries Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Nepal.
In 2023, Amazon reported employing nearly 1,500 permanent and seasonal workers in Saudi Arabia.
As one of Asia’s poorest countries, Nepal has long been a major source of foreign workers employed overseas by companies large and small.
