People are horrified by an Amazon patent that puts workers in cages — but an Amazon exec said even 'bad ideas' get submitted

Reuters

• A new research paper has highlighted an Amazon patent which shows how to transport warehouse workers inside a cage.
• The patent was granted in 2016 and the system has not been implemented, but the concept seems shocking, especially in the wider debate around how Amazon treats people who work in its warehouses.
• Amazon has clarified the system was never implemented and said the cage was designed for worker safety.
• Amazon workers paid to address the firm's social media critics have also weighed in to defend the patent.

A patent filed in 2016 has come back to haunt Amazon just as it's under major pressure over the way it treats people who work in its warehouses.

The original patent documents depict a cage designed to carry employees around warehouses. The idea is that, as warehouses become staffed up by robots whizzing around carrying out tasks, it might be safer for humans to navigate these workspaces in an enclosed box.

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• The rise of Jeff Bezos, who built Amazon into a $1 trillion company and became the richest person in modern history

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