Parcels are stored in a truck in a logistics centre of the mail order company Amazon.
Parcels are stored in a truck in a logistics centre of the mail order company Amazon.
Rolf Vennenbernd/picture alliance via Getty Images
  • Amazon delivery drivers will reportedly lose their jobs if they don't give the company permission.
  • The form would allow Amazon to collect biometric data, like facial recognition, from the drivers.
  • News surfaced last month that Amazon was planning to roll out AI-powered cameras in its vehicles.
  • See more stories on Insider's business page.

Amazon is telling its delivery drivers to sign a consent form that allows the company to track them based on biometric data as "a condition of delivering Amazon packages," Motherboard's Lauren Kaori Gurley reported on Tuesday.

Thousands of drivers across the US must sign the "biometric consent" paperwork this week, and if they don't they'll lose their jobs, according to Motherboard. The form, which was viewed by the outlet and published in the report, states that Amazon would be allowed to use "on-board safety camera technology which collects your photograph for the purposes of confirming your identity and connecting you to your driver account." The system would then "collect, store, and use Biometric Information from such photographs."

The technology specifically would track a driver's location and movement, like how many miles they drive, when they brake and turn, and how fast they are driving.

As Motherboard noted, the drivers presented with the consent form are employed through third-party delivery partners that use Amazon's delivery stations but who are still subject to the company's working guidelines. An Amazon delivery company owner told the outlet that one of their drivers refused to sign, citing Amazon's micromanaging as the reason.

Amazon did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The report comes after Amazon announced in February that it would start using cameras equipped with artificial intelligence in its trucks to track the drivers while they work. One driver, per Reuters, quit over privacy concerns regarding the new cameras. Amazon told Insider in a previous statement that the new cameras were part of an effort to invest in "safety across our operations."

Read more: More than 40% of surveyed Amazon employees say they wished they were in a union, a new Insider survey shows

The AI cameras are able to sense if a driver is speeding, yawning, or if they're not wearing their seatbelt, among other motions. Each truck's system includes four cameras: one with a view of the road, two that face the side windows, and one that faces the driver.

You can read the full report on Motherboard here.

Read the original article on Business Insider