‘Kill us or send us home’: Workers at Amazon in Saudi Arabia say recruiters exploited them

Workers at Amazon in Saudi Arabia say recruiters they contracted with have exploited them and are now demanding that either they be paid what they were promised or sent back home. Many of the workers are foreign nationals from India and the Philippines, who arrived in the Kingdom on tourist visas, and then joined Amazon after being recruited by contractors.

The recruiters have allegedly promised workers that they could get legal visas in Saudi Arabia and earn substantial salaries. Instead, according to accounts from workers speaking anonymously, they have had to work for lower wages than promised, with no legal visa or other benefits. They say that the recruiters have also demanded additional payments for filing the necessary paperwork so they can obtain visas.

The workers are reporting difficulties in securing unemployment insurance payments as well as access to healthcare due to their lack of status in the country. They also say Amazon’s Saudi personnel have failed to take any action to help them.

The workers are now calling for their wages to be paid in full, or for Amazon to send them back to their home countries. If not, they say they will protest, which they are legally allowed to do in Saudi Arabia.