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by mywittyname 1115 days ago
Stealing from a retailer like Amazon just serves to fuck over employees.

What new draconian measures is Amazon going to institute now that the news has given thousands of asshats the bright idea that they can just get a job at a warehouse and walk off with goods?

I get that theft happens. I've worked in retail and my mother managed a large retail store when I was younger. So I also get that shit rolls down hill. These aren't "victimless crimes". Sure the company isn't effected that much (though, the stock prices of retailers effected by the recent thefts tell a different story), but employees get to share the pain. Managers lose out on bonuses (read: income) from this, and asshole GMs pissed off at missing targets take out their low-level employees.

I distinctly remember retail theft being a reason my mother switched careers. She'd tell me about how she just had to sit back and watch as people rolled TVs out of the store without paying for it and realizing that she'd be the one paying for it.

3 comments

This is pretty much it.

It would be tolerable if it was one or two people. But as recent news have shown once people see there is little consequence in stealing up to a certain amount then it emboldens people and it happens in large numbers.

So a bunch of mouth breathers think stealing from the rich corporation is ok. It happens in numbers and then draconian measures that punish employees and/or law abiding, tax paying and merch paying citizens are enacted.

Always.

So no, this shit ain't victimless in the long run.

And the worst part is that this mentality does not stop a big retail stores. This sordid mentality that it's ok to steal doesn't prevent thieves from stealing from smaller business that cannot handle the loss of inventory as easily.

These stores pay the ultimate price by firing staff and/or shutting down.

Why? Cause thieves rarely differentiate. If you steal that's pretty much your life. And that's your thing.

I'd assume Amazon is going to institute new draconian measures on their employees because that's who they are. There will probably be lots of jobs for AI/ML people to implement those measures to ensure that the plebs are properly attending tasks anyway; theft is just another aspect they'll monitor for anyway.

The more interesting question that occurs to me is - what is the optimal item to steal from an Amazon warehouse? Nintendo games actually seem like a decent size/weight/value ratio, but I'd bet there's much better. Obviously precious jewelry is a classic, but there might already be increased scrutiny on those. I'm sure some enterprising young go-getters will figure it out.

It affects Amazon. If everything include all money, employees and relationship to other businesses were stolen Amazon would go out of business and someone else would take their marketshare.