Intel Accused by Workers to Prioritize Chip Output over Safety Regulations

[AleksandarK]

With the current world pandemic happening, it is quite difficult for every manufacturer to keep its production lines running, as the factory needs a big amount of staff to look out for the processes happening and that creates big gatherings, which is potentially dangerous for spreading the COVID-19. In the most recent report by Bloomberg Law, Intel has been accused to prioritize chip output over the safety of its employees, meaning that Intel is forcing CPU production, where the fab working conditions are not the best. Workers have reported that Intel has been pushing them to work in big groups, without proper protective equipment like shields or masks. It is reported that few managers have told that the 6 feet distancing rule is fine to break, as long as the contact is under 30 minutes. There have been four of such complaints filed against Intel, and Intel has already responded stating the following:

Intel's top priority in managing the coronavirus situation is protecting the health and well-being of employees while continuing to operate and support our customers around the world. This has been an incredibly dynamic and unprecedented situation, and we have worked to learn and adapt as fast as possible so we can continue to safeguard our workers and communities.

We encourage our employees to raise concerns and we work hard to address those concerns quickly. Intel submitted formal responses to the complaints and OSHA inspectors visited our sites in Oregon, Arizona and New Mexico. We have not received any violations, and OSHA inspectors that visited our sites complimented us on our actions.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Vayra86]

Well, they dó have masks, right? Pic shows it.

 

[mtcn77]

It is stupid to argue you will transmit micronic particles while working in a factory equipped to filter nanometric debris.

 

[Baum]

Like in every other industry.. greed and stupidity is what spreads this virus the most


even at my workplace it is the same, no one stays 1,5 meters away so corona will catch everyone!

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

It is stupid to argue you will transmit micronic particles while working in a factory equipped to filter nanometric debris.

You think it's the factory guy's who got this complaint in the news.
Those guy's and girls are too busy doing actual work.

It will be the desk jockies ,if they work typically , they're on massive floor's sat side by side and facing people within two meters probably one meter apart.
And if they are like other desk jockies I have worked with, moaning about the situation comes before work. .

 

[Cranky5150]

I mean it's a CLEAN room correct?? Daily ,those workers wear more protective gear than most of us would ever wear at work. Do you need to stay safe? Sure you do but, the more that we stay shut down or at reduced conditions the longer it will take to get back to work and get the world economy going again.

 

[HTC]

Was it just me or did anyone else read this as "Intel prioritizing chip output over chips without flaws"?

I mean it's a CLEAN room correct?? Daily ,those workers wear more protective gear than most of us would ever wear at work. Do you need to stay safe? Sure you do but, the more that we stay shut down or at reduced conditions the longer it will take to get back to work and get the world economy going again.

Not all of Intel's workers work in the chip plants, no? I'm assuming those are the ones complaining.

 

[nickbaldwin86]

Find that complainer and fire him/her.... they are surely replaceable and will do the work without alerting the fake news.

silly that this is even a thing, I doubt a company the size of Intel is literally outright stating, "work before human lives". not buying it.

 

[TheUn4seen]

My employer is also an asshole, working me like a dog for 10 hours a day, often at night, thinking the whole work-life balance is millennial gibberish, lowering my salary so he can invest the money into his business. Of course I don't get any protective gear in my workplace, not even a mask. Even my coworker is an idiot, often ruining my work and slowing me down at every opportunity.
That's what I get for being self-employed and working from home for the last few weeks, with the cat as my primary company.

"It is reported that few managers have told that the 6 feet distancing rule is fine to break"
My wife noticed something. She mostly works from home, but her line of work requires her to be at the office from time to time, and, while her employer (company comparable to Intel) has very reasonable and well implemented rules for gatherings, employees are willingly breaking them out of laziness and apparent ignorance, with a tiny minority shifting the blame to the company "for not making sure everyone is playing by the rules". What the hell do they expect, that the company would delegate half of the employees to the role of "office police"? Blame the lazy, stupid people who can't be bothered to play by the rules.
But, since this is USA we're talking about, I guess the employees just want to use the opportunity to extort some money from the company. It's an American national sport, isn't it?

 

[Caring1]

Hey don't blame the cat if you slack off, it's only there to Supervise and do quality control.

 

[InVasMani]

Intel has become a high risk corona virus epidemic zone LEVEL RED 14nm++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

[Scrizz]

Find that complainer and fire him/her.... they are surely replaceable and will do the work without alerting the fake news.

silly that this is even a thing, I doubt a company the size of Intel is literally outright stating, "work before human lives". not buying it.

Yes. Intel has actually done a very nice job of keeping it's employees safe. If anyone is concerned about something, they can contact their management/HR/pandemic team.
They do take action.

 

[R-T-B]

silly that this is even a thing, I doubt a company the size of Intel is literally outright stating, "work before human lives". not buying it.

No one is dumb enough to state it. Policies speak louder than words. Penalizing someone for a complaint is how you get a huge lawsuit. It's illegal for a good reason.

Yes. Intel has actually done a very nice job of keeping it's employees safe. If anyone is concerned about something, they can contact their management/HR/pandemic team.
They do take action.

That may be, but they surely don't fire people over contacting the media then, I would hope?