Amazon apologizes to any 'offended' employees after flyer urges struggling workers to write to mascot
'Our team is aware of the potential negative perception it created'
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A holiday giving initiative at one Amazon warehouse in New York went awry, at least for one worker who became angry about a flyer inviting them to write a letter sharing their financial struggles with the company's mascot, Peccy.
"They basically say, ‘Tell us about your hardships, how hard this holiday season is for you.' If we feel it’s sad enough [then we’ll] give your family some help," Keith Williams, a worker at the Amazon SWF1 warehouse, said, per a report from The Guardian.
Peccy, an orange blob-like character who represents the online retail giant, sits at the bottom of the flyer employees noticed at the warehouse where Williams works in Rock Tavern, New York.
When reached for comment, an Amazon spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "This was a well-intentioned holiday giving initiative that received a lot of positive feedback from employees, however, our team is aware of the potential negative perception it created and apologize to anyone who may have been offended."
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The logo of the U.S. online retail giant Amazon is seen at the distribution center in Staten Island on March 30, 2020, in New York. ((Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
The following text hovered above the mascot: "Are you or someone you know facing financial hardship this holiday season? Peccy wants to help! Write a letter to Peccy. If the Peccy team selects you, some of your holiday wishes could come true!"
According to Amazon, it was a part of initiatives that some individual sites do to benefit employees or the community at large.
A September report provided by the company cited itself as the country's leading job creator and announced it is "investing $1.3 billion this year [2023] toward pay increases for customer fulfillment and transportation employees."
The same report detailed that employees make an average of $20.50 per hour, but starting pay begins at $17 an hour, leading some to criticize the flyer while calling for pay increases.
Jeff Bezos speaks during the Climate Week NYC Leaders’ Reception at PEAK at Hudson Yards on September 20, 2021, in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Bezos Earth Fund / Getty Images)
Some, however, make as much as $28 per hour.
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The Guardian report, meanwhile, stated that the company tripled its profits to $9.9 billion in the most recent quarter, while revenues in the three months ending Sept. 30 brought in $143 billion in revenues. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is also one of the wealthiest people in the world.
Williams and other employees at the Rock Tavern warehouse are looking for higher wages.
"All we’re just asking for from Amazon is to do what they’re clearly able to do with the billions of dollars that they have. We just want to share in some of the efforts that we do for Amazon," he said, per The Guardian.
"We want wages. Not trinkets. They have raffles for us. If they see us working real hard, they’ll give us three tickets and out of all the people here putting tickets in, we might get something, or they’ll put a Peccy pin on our desk so everyone knows we’re doing great instead of just giving us the safety and security of a living wage."
