It appears that Amazon has abruptly terminated contracts with three local delivery services over concerns about safety and customer experience.
LETTER RIDE
San Diego, California-based Letter Ride, a local delivery provider, and an Amazon delivery partner, has announced that they will be laying off 423 employees in its various Texas locations in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston commencing on December 4, 2019. Additionally, another 474 employees will be laid off in its various California locations in Carlsbad, Chino, National City, Riverside, Rosemead, and San Diego. The decision appears to be conditioned on Amazon’s termination of its prime delivery partner contract.
According to an Amazon spokesperson, “We work with a variety of carrier partners to get packages to Amazon customers and we regularly evaluate our partnerships. We have ended our relationship with these companies, and drivers are being supported with opportunities to deliver Amazon packages with other local delivery service partners.” However, the non-profit investigative reporting site, ProPublica, suggests that the contract termination may be linked to deaths that occurred during fast-paced delivery operations.
INPAX
Additionally, Atlanta Georgia-based Inpax Shipping Solutions’ Final Mile Delivery will be laying off another 925 employees from the company’s various facilities in Georgia, Ohio, North Carolina, and Texas. The company lost their Amazon contract after Amazon’s evaluation of safety and customer experience.
SHEARD-LOMAN TRANSPORT
Chicago, Illinois-based Sheard-Loman Transport, the smallest of the delivery firms, is also affected by the Amazon contact loss over safety and customer experience and will be laying off up to 200 employees in three states.
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?