According to reports, Amazon employees deleted exclusive sales information, negative reviews, email , and re-enabled blocked accounts.
On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal published a report showing that sellers have bribed Amazon employees to gain access to internal sales data or delete negative reviews, and that the company has launched an investigation into the matter.
According to the report, the perpetrators used social media sites like WeChat to target Amazon employees, offering them money in exchange for inside information or the removal of negative reviews. The WSJ also reports that the cost to remove a bad review is as high as $300. Amazon employees were also asked to provide email addresses of customers who left negative reviews, or even sales information to give sellers an advantage over their competitors. To combat this, an Amazon spokesperson told the WSJ that they have implemented “systems to limit and control who employees can access.”.
The practice is “particularly prevalent” in China, although the company’s investigation is also extending to American employees. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed that it is investigating the complaints:
“We have implemented strict policies and a Code of Business Conduct for our employees. We have created sophisticated systems to limit and control access to such information. We hold our employees to a high level of discipline, and anyone who violates our Code faces consequences, including termination and possible legal and criminal sanctions. In addition, we have zero tolerance for abuse of our systems, and if we find those involved in such actions, we will take immediate action against them, such as terminating their sales accounts, deleting reviews, withholding profits, as well as taking legal action. We are conducting a thorough investigation into the matter.”
