An Amazon Driver Was Told She Would Be Fired If She Didn't Continue Delivering Packages Despite Tornado Warnings: Report

'Keep delivering,' the supervisor ordered. 'We can't just call people back for a warning unless Amazon tells us to.'

learn more about Amanda Breen

By Amanda Breen

Approximately 80 minutes before a tornado destroyed an Edwardsville, Illinois Amazon warehouse on Dec. 10, a delivery driver and her supervisor exchanged a series of text messages that capture a chaotic, increasingly dangerous situation, Bloomberg reports.

"Radio's going off," the driver wrote in a text reviewed by the outlet. "Keep delivering," the supervisor ordered. "We can't just call people back for a warning unless Amazon tells us to."

When the driver suggested she return to the base for her own safety, the supervisor threatened her employment, saying, "If you decide to return with your packages, it will be viewed as you refusing your route, which will ultimately end with you not having a job come tomorrow morning. The sirens are just a warning."

Related: Amazon Accused of Massively Underreporting Covid Cases Contracted at Work

A person familiar with the situation said the texts between the driver and her supervisor are authentic. According to this same person, the driver was about 30 miles away from a group of Amazon facilities in Edwardsville at the time of the exchange and was based out of a delivery station across the highway from the warehouse that was ultimately destroyed by the tornado.

Six Amazon workers were confirmed dead after the tornado hit the Edwardsville facility, tearing off its roof and bringing down its 11-inch thick concrete walls. Workers who took shelter in a designated safe zone survived while those who were trapped on the other side of the building lost their lives. The tragedy has fueled debate over the tech giant's alleged mishandling of dangerous situations in the past, but the company maintains it followed standard safety protocols.

"This was a developing situation across a broad geographic area, and unfortunately the delivery-service partner's dispatcher didn't follow the standard safety practice," Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement to Bloomberg. According to Nantel, the dispatcher should have instructed the driver to seek shelter after the driver reported hearing tornado sirens, and during the text exchange, "the local Amazon team was ensuring each delivery-service partner had directed their drivers to shelter in place or seek shelter and advised them to stop delivering for the evening.... Under no circumstance should the dispatcher have threatened the driver's employment, and we're investigating the full details of this incident and will take any necessary action."

Related: Amazon Outages Affecting Thousands of Customers on Netflix, Slack

Amazon hasn't responded to Entrepreneur's request for further comment at this time.

Amanda Breen

Entrepreneur Staff

Features Writer

Amanda Breen is a features writer at Entrepreneur.com. She is a graduate of Barnard College and recently completed the MFA in writing at Columbia University, where she was a news fellow for the School of the Arts during the 2020-2021 academic year. 

Related Topics

Editor's Pick

The Dark Side of Pay Transparency — And What to Do If You Find Out You're Being Underpaid
Thinking of a Career Change? Here Are 4 Steps You Can Take to Get There.
A Founder Who Bootstrapped Her Jewelry Business With Just $1,000 Now Sees 7-Figure Revenue Because She Knew Something About Her Customers Nobody Else Did
Everything You Need to Know About Franchise Law
Business News

Carnival Cruise Wants Passengers to Have Fun in the Sun — But Do This, and You'll Get Burned With a New $500 Fee

The cruise line's updated contract follows a spate of unruly guest behavior across the tourism industry.

Business News

TikTok Influencer Reveals She Makes $350,000 a Month on OnlyFans. 'Absolutely Unreal.'

When Tara Lynn promoted her OnlyFans page on TikTok, she saw her income more than double.

Business News

'I Don't Feel Like It's Unreasonable': A-List Actor Refused Service At Hotspot For Not Following Dress Code

Academy Award-winning actor Russell Crowe had quite the afternoon after trying to stop at a Japanese steakhouse in Melbourne, Australia following a game of tennis.

Franchise

How to Bring Your Franchise to the Next Level With Marketing Automation

With the impacts of inflation and associated costs of running a business, automation is a powerful solution for streamlining a positive guest experience and overall marketing.

Money & Finance

7 Ways to Make Extra Income Even With a Full-Time Job

Want to make more money? Real estate investing, Amazon ecommerce and the sharing economy are waiting for you.