February 2020

Since 2018 Amazon has been building its Delivery Service Partner program.   This program outsources package deliveries to entrepreneurs around the country.  A consequence of this expansion is the effect on over 800 small logistics companies that have contracted with Amazon in the past.    

Recently, Amazon has parted company with some logistics companies in Illinois, Washington, Kansas, Texas, Alabama and Florida.  These companies employ about 1,300 drivers.   An Amazon representative stated that, “Prior to launching the Delivery Service Partner program to empower entrepreneurs to build their businesses with Amazon, we contracted with a number of small logistics companies.  Some of these companies have not met our bar for safety, performance or working conditions, and we’re in the process of exiting them from the program.”

Amazon representatives expect that the drivers laid off by the logistics companies will be able to move into the Delivery Service Partner program, resulting in few jobs lost overall. 

Some sources blame safety issues on a lack of safety training, focus on short delivery times, and poor logistics software.  Some Amazon drivers have said that the logistics software bases routes on the delivery addresses of the packages in the van, giving them in-effect, a new route every day.  Amazon insists that their priority is safety.  Dave Clark, Amazon’s logistics and operations chief has stated that Amazon has “learned a lot in the years since we started delivering packages and we’ll continue to learn more… We’ve always had a focus on safety and continuous improvement and that won’t change.”

Despite reports of driver lay-offs, and the discussions over the reasons for them, Amazon continues to build its package delivery program and its Delivery Service Partner program.

To read more about changes in Washington state, click here.

To read more about discussions on safety issues, click here.