Amazon warehouses run extremely smoothly for efficiency but also for health and safety. One of the ways that Amazon keeps order in the fulfillment centers is by having different Amazon warehouse vest colors for every type of position among employees.
So let’s find out what these Amazon vest colors mean, who wears each color, and what privileges each color represents.
What Do the Different Colored Vests at Amazon Mean?
- Yellow: Tier 1 Worker
- Orange: Shift/Process Assistant, Field Quality Assurance
- Red: Manager, Area or Operations
- Blue: Ambassadors, Trainers, Customer Service
- Purple: Human Resources
- Green: Amazon Safety Committee (ASC) or Safety Ambassador
- Black: IT (Information Technology) Staff
- Silver: Maintenance Staff
It’s important to understand that these colors, while commonly representing the following categories of employees, may be different in your fulfillment center, so you should definitely learn the descriptions of the colored vests wherever you are working.
As well, most of the time, the color that represents the occupation of the employee is not actually the color of the vest but the color of the stripes on the vest.
Now, let’s go through what each of these colors means when you see them on Amazon warehouse safety vests, as well as what privileges come with the various colors and who wears them right now.
Yellow
At almost every Amazon fulfillment center in the country, a plain yellow vest represents the same category: Tier 1 employees.
Some of the duties and responsibilities of Amazon tier 1 workers include:
- Receive and prepare inventory for delivery.
- Use technology like smartphones and handheld devices to sort, scan, and prepare orders.
- View prompts on screens and follow directions for some tasks.
- Build, wrap, sort, and transport pallets and packages.
- Receive truck deliveries.
Orange
The orange vest or orange stripes on yellow vest in Amazon warehouses represent Shift or Process Assistants or Field Quality Assistants.
The Field Quality Assurance Specialist will solve challenges regarding deliveries in their assigned territory, partnering with their Regional Quality Assurance manager.
Shift Assistants are responsible for the daily management of tier 1 employees and department duties including: assigning job duties, delegating labor, leading meetings, providing direction, and communicating with internal and external suppliers.
Essentially, an orange vest at Amazon means that the employee is a supervisor and has slightly more responsibilities than a tier 1 worker with a yellow vest.
Red
If you’re wondering: What is the color of the vest that managers wear at Amazon? The answer is red. A red vest or red striped vest in an Amazon fulfillment center represents an Area or Operations Manager.
Amazon Operations Managers are responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of their assigned department. They ensure that both supervisors and employees are working together and understand the delegation and needs of the day for a successful shift.
Typically, most Amazon employees start with yellow vests, then are promoted to yellow, and eventually to red, or management vests, if they do well within the company.
Blue
Those Amazon employees wearing a blue vest or blue-striped vest are often Trainer Ambassadors or Customer Service Representatives.
As Trainers, their responsibilities include training new tier 1 employees within the warehouse. And those who have the title of Ambassadors also improve customer understanding of the Amazon process and post about Amazon’s products and services.
Blue vest employees, while they have slightly more responsibilities than yellow vests, do not have the privileges of orange and red vest employees.
Purple
If you see a purple vest or stripped vest at Amazon, these employees work in Human Resources.
While most Human Resources employees will also work in an Amazon office, they often visit the warehouses on a regular basis to ensure employees are satisfied with their work environment and that the center is running smoothly.
Green
Green vests at Amazon usually represent those employees with the Work Place Health and Safety team.
Their responsibilities include maintaining, developing and implementing the highest standards of safety and well-being in the workplace for all our employees. They will work with management as well as tier 1 employees on the floor to ensure the warehouse is running as safely as possible.
Black
Black vests are worn by Amazon’s IT (Informational Technology) Staff.
These employees often work behind the scenes; however, you may see them on the center floor from time to time ensuring that the computers, smartphones, and any other tech devices that assist in packaging and shipping are operating correctly.
Silver
The maintenance staff at Amazon fulfillment centers wear silver or silver striped vests. As far as privileges go, the maintenance staff has very few. Their job is to ensure the warehouse stays clean and tidy to keep all employees safe throughout the work day.