
Amazon closes, abandons plans for dozens of U.S. warehouses
During the second quarter, Amazon’s workforce shrank by roughly 100,000 jobs, to 1.52 million, the biggest quarter-to-quarter contraction in the company’s history.
During the second quarter, Amazon’s workforce shrank by roughly 100,000 jobs, to 1.52 million, the biggest quarter-to-quarter contraction in the company’s history.
Amazon is closing the hybrid virtual, in-home care service it’s spent years developing, a surprising move that underscores the challenges it faces as it moves into health care.
From what you buy online, to how you remember tasks, to when you monitor your doorstep, Now it plans to spend billions of dollars on two gigantic acquisitions that, if approved, will broaden its ever growing presence in the lives of consumers.
It’s the second fee hike imposed on merchants this year by the online retail behemoth. In April, the company added a 5% “fuel and inflation” surcharge to offset rising gas costs and inflation.
One Medical is a membership-based service that offers virtual care as well as in-person visits. It also works with more than 8,000 companies to provide its health benefits to employees.
Amazon sold more than 300 million items over two days, more than any previous Prime Day, the company said Thursday. Best-selling items included diapers, beauty products and Apple watches, according to Amazon.
The company has long used the two-day event to lure people to its Prime membership. This year, it could help Amazon boost profitability amid a slowdown in overall online sales.
A report released in April by Strategic Organizing Center, a coalition of four labor unions, found Amazon employed 33% of all U.S. warehouse workers in 2021, but was responsible for 49% of all injuries in the industry.
Seattle-based Amazon doubled the size of its operations during the pandemic, adding more warehouses and employees. But as the worst of the pandemic eased, it found itself with too much warehouse space and too many workers.
The White House responded by pointing out that Jeff Bezos’ attacks emerged days after Biden met in the Oval Office with the labor leaders behind Amazon’s unionization drive, which the company has vehemently opposed.
Labor organizers and experts say they expect the momentum to organize at Amazon’s more than 1,000 warehouses across the country to continue despite the loss.
Amazon prospered during the COVID-19 pandemic as homebound people eager to limit human contact turned online to purchase what they need. But growth has slowed as vaccinated Americans feel more comfortable going out.
In a notice sent to sellers Wednesday, the company said its costs had gone up since the beginning of the pandemic due to increases in hourly wages, the hiring of workers and construction of more warehouses.
If a majority of Amazon workers votes yes in either Bessemer or Staten Island, it would mark the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the company’s history.
Amazon is gearing up for its toughest labor fight yet, with two separate union elections coming to a head as soon as next week that could provide further momentum to the recent wave of organizing efforts across the country.
The House Judiciary Committee escalated the bipartisan battle against the world’s biggest online retailer with a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, referring the case for a criminal inquiry.
Amazon plans to add hundreds of jobs at the facility, including receiving, sorting and shipping, and network logistics support.
Another major outage in Amazon’s cloud computing network has raised questions about the vulnerability of the internet and its concentration in the hands of a few firms.
The letter from more than a dozen lawmakers asks Amazon for documents and details about its policies for safety drills, storm shelters and flexible working hours during storms.
Kentucky’s governor says a devastating tornado touched down for 227 miles—more than 200 in his state—and deaths were feared in 10 counties.