• Amazon confirms multiple tuberculosis cases at its Coventry, UK fulfilment centre, triggering a major workplace health investigation
• GMB Union calls for immediate closure of the site and mass testing for thousands of workers
• Public health agencies classify most cases as latent TB, raising big questions about risk, safety and transparency in modern warehouses
• Outbreak arrives as Amazon faces ongoing battles over worker recognition, pay and automation in its UK operations

The Tuberculosis Outbreak at Amazon’s Coventry Fulfilment Center – What It Tells Us About Health, Safety and Power in Big Warehouses

When health officials confirmed a tuberculosis outbreak linked to Amazon’s massive fulfilment centre in Coventry, it immediately turned a regional health issue into a national story about how modern logistics really works.

Amazon acknowledged that ten workers had tested positive for what it described as “non-contagious” TB in September, according to statements reported by NDTV and other outlets. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS teams have since been on site, offering tests to people who may have been in close contact with affected staff.

The GMB Union says the response is nowhere near enough. It is demanding that Amazon temporarily close the warehouse and fully test the workforce, which is believed to number around 3,000 people.

Understanding the tuberculosis outbreak and how officials classify it

TB is often labelled a “Victorian disease,” but it has never really gone away. The WHO estimates more than 1.2 million deaths globally in 2024, and UKHSA data shows TB cases in England rose by 13 percent between 2023 and 2024. The NHS describes TB as an infectious disease caused by bacteria that usually affect the lungs and can spread through the air when a person with active TB coughs or speaks.

The detail that matters in Coventry is the difference between latent TB and active TB. In latent TB, the bacteria are present in the body but do not cause symptoms and cannot be passed on to others, as explained in NHS and specialist guidance on latent infection. Active TB is the form that is contagious, especially when it affects the lungs.

Amazon has stressed that the identified cases are latent. Health officials quoted by NDTV and Al Mayadeen, including Dr Roger Gajraj of UKHSA West Midlands, said testing is being offered to those with potential close contact. That framing has been central to Amazon’s argument that the warehouse can safely keep operating while contact tracing and treatment continue.

Union demands, political pressure and the fight over closure

GMB’s stance is very different. In its public statement on the TB outbreak at Amazon Coventry, senior organiser Amanda Gearing said Amazon is “putting all workers, site visitors, and the local and wider communities at risk” and called for an immediate temporary shutdown.

Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana has gone further. Speaking after the outbreak was confirmed, she called Amazon’s decision not to close the site “outrageous” and accused the company of treating “its employees as if they’re disposable,” remarks reported by UNILAD and other outlets.

This is unfolding against a backdrop of long running disputes at the same warehouse. Coventry was the first Amazon site in Britain to see a formal strike over pay, as covered by Jacobin and UK labour groups. GMB argues that Amazon’s refusal to recognise the union, documented in its own campaign reports, has left workers with little trust in the company’s health and safety assurances.

Public health response meets warehouse reality

From a public health perspective, the response follows a familiar template. UKHSA is responsible for disease surveillance and outbreak control in England. NHS England’s TB programme sets out how local teams should test, trace and treat cases. TB is treatable with antibiotics, and standard leaflets say treatment can last from three to six months or longer, depending on whether the bacteria show any drug resistance.

But warehouses like Amazon Coventry add real complexity. Thousands of people work under one roof on shifts that run around the clock. Staff move through shared facilities, clock in and out using common devices and often rely on crowded transport. Even if the current cases are latent, unions say the density and turnover of staff mean any infectious disease needs a more cautious approach than a typical office environment.

That tension is not new in tech-driven logistics. Investigations into Amazon’s safety record by the GMB Union and outlets like Tribune have highlighted more than 1,000 serious injuries across UK sites over several years, even as Amazon’s own safety briefings claim year on year improvements and millions of internal inspections. The picture that emerges is one of high throughput, high pressure operations where any weak point in health protocols is amplified very quickly.

Workplace safety, automation and the future of warehousing

The Coventry outbreak also lands at a time when Amazon is reshaping how its warehouses operate. The company is rolling out more robotics and automation, including systems like the Blue Jay robot, which has already raised fears about the future of manual roles. Our deeper look at how Amazon’s Blue Jay robot could replace large parts of the warehouse workforce shows why health and safety debates cannot be separated from questions about power and job security.

For many staff, the TB outbreak underlines a broader concern. If a company can keep running through a public health scare, with limited transparency, what happens when automation makes human workers even more replaceable. GMB’s call for closure reads not only as a health demand, but also as a test of whether worker voices can shape decisions inside one of Britain’s most important logistics hubs.

Data, privacy and the quiet digital side of an outbreak

There is another layer that often gets less attention. Managing an outbreak at a site this size means handling a lot of sensitive data. Health records, contact tracing details and employment information all move between Amazon, NHS bodies and possibly contractors.

In a world of rising cyber incidents, from healthcare breaches to major infrastructure attacks, that flow of data is not a side issue. Readers who follow our coverage of incidents like the iiNet data breach in Australia or the critical F5 hack impacting UK systems will recognise the pattern. When something goes wrong, people suddenly discover just how widely their details were shared.

Recommended Tech

The TechBull recommends using a dedicated identity protection tool to keep an eye on new accounts or suspicious activity that might follow large scale health or HR data handling. Services like Aura identity protection monitor credit and dark web activity and send alerts if your personal information appears where it should not. For warehouse workers and contractors who may have shared details during TB testing or health checks, this kind of monitoring can add a useful extra layer of reassurance.

What this outbreak reveals about modern tech operations

The Coventry TB outbreak sits at the intersection of public health, labour rights and digital infrastructure. It shows how a traditional infectious disease can collide with a highly optimised, tech heavy operation and turn into a wider question about whose interests are protected first.

Amazon, which has pledged billions of pounds of new investment in the UK and promotes its improving safety metrics, insists it is working closely with NHS teams and following all guidance. The union movement and some local politicians say that is not enough. They want a pause, more testing and more transparency before thousands of workers are asked to keep packing boxes and meeting performance targets.

For customers, the fallout might only appear as a delayed parcel or a short term shift in delivery times. For workers inside the building, the issue feels much more direct. A disease that most people associate with history books has suddenly become part of the everyday risk of turning up for a shift.

As we have explored in other coverage, from Amazon’s cloud failures and big tech dependence to practical guides on why it pays to understand the systems behind essential services and what works when you are building resilient operations, the same theme keeps returning. The more we rely on a few giant platforms to move packages, data and money, the higher the stakes when something, anything, goes wrong.

There is no quick technical fix for that. Better safety practices, stronger worker representation and clearer oversight all matter just as much as sensors and dashboards. And on the consumer side, basic preparedness still counts. Simple items like home thermometers, sanitiser or remote work gear can make it easier to stay home when you are unwell. Many of these are heavily discounted through rotating Amazon Prime Deals, which can help households stock up without breaking the bank.

The TB cases in Coventry will eventually be counted, treated and filed in official statistics. What lingers is the bigger question. In the next crisis, will the balance between public health, worker safety and uninterrupted logistics look any different. That is the debate now playing out in real time on the warehouse floor.