Amazon calls delivery drivers back, closes hubs near protests in US

[SEATTLE] Amazon.com is scaling back deliveries and adjusting routes in a small number of cities including Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked demonstrations around the country, prompting curfew orders.

"We are monitoring the situation closely and in a handful of cities we adjusted routes or scaled back typical operations to ensure the safety of our teams," an Amazon spokesperson told Bloomberg News.

Amazon's action shows how protests around the country are complicating operations for the e-commerce giant, which was still catching up from a surge in demand tied to the Covid-19 outbreak.

In Chicago and Los Angeles, Amazon delivery drivers received messages Saturday night that said: "If you are currently out delivering packages, stop immediately and return home. If you have not completed your route, please return undelivered packages to the pick-up location whenever you're able to do so."

Amazon was "in close contact with local officials and will continue to monitor the protests", and would only re-open delivery stations when it's safe and will plan delivery routes by monitoring demonstrations in every zip code, according to messages reviewed by Bloomberg.

BLOOMBERG