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Amazon’s distribution space: constructing a ‘labour fix’ through digital Taylorism and corporate Keynesianism

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  • Henaway Mostafa

    (Concordia University, Geography, Planning and Environment, 1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W., 12th Floor, Montreal, Canada)

Abstract

Amazon is one of the largest e-commerce corporations in the world and has built a reputation for fast, low-cost service. To rapidly and efficiently move goods from production to consumption, however, Amazon relies on a logistics network that entails significant investments in infrastructure (physical and human) and these investments present a challenge for capital accumulation. In this paper, I examine the labour practices that Amazon employs within its distribution work spaces to address this challenge. The analysis is based on a case study of Amazon’s distribution facilities (fulfilment centres and delivery stations) in Montreal, Quebec. It draws on ethnographic research as a community organizer and semi-structured interviews with workers (present and former), trade union representatives and public policy experts to identify Amazon’s key strategies. Building on past studies on the platform economy, I illustrate how Amazon relies on ‘digital Taylorism’ (Staab & Nachtwey, 2016), involving the use of digital technologies to structure and control the labour process and surveil workers, as a key strategy. However, I further illustrate how Amazon seeks to balance the harmful effects of digital Taylorism with what I term ‘corporate keynesianism’ (i.e., social welfare benefits) to attain a ‘labour fix’, i.e., the steady supply of precarious, compliant labour needed to sustain the logistics machine.

Suggested Citation

  • Henaway Mostafa, 2023. "Amazon’s distribution space: constructing a ‘labour fix’ through digital Taylorism and corporate Keynesianism," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 67(4), pages 202-216, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:zfwige:v:67:y:2023:i:4:p:202-216:n:3
    DOI: 10.1515/zfw-2022-0017
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Timo Seidl, 2022. "The politics of platform capitalism: A case study on the regulation of Uber in New York," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(2), pages 357-374, April.
    2. Neil M. Coe, 2014. "Missing links: Logistics, governance and upgrading in a shifting global economy," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(1), pages 224-256, February.
    3. Hartmut Hirsch-Kreinsen, 2016. "Digitization of industrial work: development paths and prospects [Digitalisierung industrieller Arbeit: Entwicklungspfade und Perspektiven]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 49(1), pages 1-14, July.
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