Seattle, W.A. – On Wednesday, Amazon announced that it would suspend its new delivery system introduced to deliver non-Amazon packages. In their issued statement, Amazon said that “it needed to reevaluate the nascent offering that competes directly with FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc.” Also, according to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon announced that due to COVID-19, their company “needs its people and capacity to handle a surge in its own customers’ orders.”
With most of the nation under “Stay-at-Home Orders,” many Americans are turning to online ordering for their shopping needs, including household essentials and cleaning supplies. As a result of this surge, Amazon announced March 16th, its company’s efforts to hire an additional 100,000 people to satisfy current demand. In addition to increasing employment opportunities, Amazon announced an immediate pay increase of $2 per hour for every employee, and every hour worked through April.
Amazon has been under fire as of late for reportedly preventing the unionization of its employees. On April 1st, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was calling for an investigation into the Jeff Bezos–led tech giant. Last month, Amazon reportedly fired warehouse worker, Rashad Long, after he “was leading efforts to unionize workers in Staten Island.” In his complaint, which was first reported by the New York Times, Long said that terminating him for a safety violation was just a cover for the real reason: Supervisors were punishing him for speaking out about working conditions at the warehouse.
Amazon denies the accusation.
“Mr. Long’s allegations are false,” Rachael Lighty, a spokesperson for Amazon, said in a statement to Vox. “His employment was terminated for violating a serious safety policy. All employees, including Mr. Long, are trained from day one on the importance of safety and their role in maintaining a safe workplace.”
Over the last two years, Amazon has stepped out of his traditional online roll to offer more consumer-driven services, such as Amazon Go Grocery store. Under this service, customers can shop for everyday grocery items like fresh produce, meat, seafood, bakery items, household essentials, dairy, easy-to-make dinner options, beer, wine and spirits, and more.
The customer advantage is Amazon offers this shopping experience without the need for cashiers and allows shoppers first to use the Amazon Go app to scan in as they enter the store, then shop as usual. Cameras and sensors track the items removed from the shelves, which are then added to the shopper’s virtual cart. When the customer exits the store, their cart is checked out automatically using their payment card on file.
AMAZONian changes continue for Jeff Bezos and his company. FedEx and UPS stocks surged after The Wall Street Journal announced Amazon halting competing service.
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