Amazon

LOS ANGELES - As Amazon’s sales continue to rise during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company released on Thursday a new initiative to reduce the materials used for sending out packages and provide instructions on how to reuse the boxes in a fun way.“Less packaging, more smiles” is Amazon’s new program that includes a call to action to use less packaging material and shrink the boxes to fit orders more often.The new packaging system will also include a QR code that directs customers to specific instructions on how to transform the box into a cat condo, rocket ship, fort and more.“When our packaging uses less material, weighs less, and is the right size to protect customer orders, we can pack more orders into each delivery, resulting in fewer trips, less fuel burned— all of which minimize our carbon footprint,” read Amazon’s statement.“We are committed to sustainability because we care about planet earth.

BELOIT, Wis. -- The new Amazon fulfillment center in Beloit is now hiring more than 500 full-time positions.“As a Wisconsinite, I’m thrilled to be returning home to Beloit to open our new fulfillment center,” said Amazon Site Manager for Beloit, Jason Berg. “We look forward to providing the community with 500 jobs, creating a wide range of career opportunities with industry leading pay and comprehensive benefits starting on day one.”“The City of Beloit warmly welcomes Amazon to our community.

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Amazon will stop selling Washington Redskins merchandise after the football team said it would undergo a review of its name, which is considered a racial slur.The Seattle-based online shopping giant informed sellers Wednesday morning that it would be pulling Redskins merchandise from its online marketplace.

DETROIT -- A Detroit-area Amazon delivery driver on Monday, June 29 said he abandoned a van full of packages at a gas station in a tweet that has since gone viral.Derick Lancaster, known as @_lilderick on Twitter, said in a Monday tweet that he "quit" his job at Amazon and shared the location of his abandoned delivery van "full of gas wit the keys in the IGNITION," followed by another tweet sharing a photo of the parked van."Mentally, my health -- I just couldn't keep working 13 hours a day for that company," Lancaster told FOX Business.His tweet went viral and now has hundreds of thousands of likes and comments from other users expressing concerns about delayed packages while others cheered Lancaster for the move.In a video posted later on Monday, Lancaster says he's not "about to keep waking up at 9 " and getting home at 10 ," then doing it all over again the next day.

SEATTLE -- Amazon, Lowe’s and other major companies have announced bonuses for employees working on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic as the number of newly confirmed cases surge in the U.S. and elsewhere.Amazon announced Monday it will provide a one-time “thank you” bonus to all employees of Amazon and Whole Foods Market, which the company purchased in 2017, and partners who have been with the company since at least June 1 — totaling more than $500 million.Full-time Amazon employees, Whole Foods Market employees and delivery service partner drivers will all receive a $500 bonus, while those in part-time roles will receive $250.

MAGNOLIA, Del. -- An Amazon driver is being celebrated for delivering a little fun — and attention to detail — with her packages.Last week, Lynn Staffieri ordered something off of Amazon.

NEW YORK — Amazon on Wednesday banned police use of its face-recognition technology for a year, making it the latest tech giant to step back from law-enforcement use of systems that have been criticized for incorrectly identifying people with darker skin.The Seattle-based company did not say why it took action now.

SEATTLE -- Amazon may postpone its annual Prime Day event until September as the company works to regain its footing amid an unexpected spike in online orders due to the coronavirus pandemic.The two-day shopping event is typically held in July, but keeping up with customer demand and a strain on the company’s warehouses have led to it being postponed, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.Prime Day, launched in 2015, was created to drum up sales during sluggish summer months and to secure new Prime members.

NEW YORK — An Amazon executive says he quit his job at the online retail giant to protest the firing of employees who spoke up about the conditions inside Amazon’s warehouses and the company’s record on climate change.Tim Bray, a vice president at the company, wrote in a blog post that he left his job last week “in dismay” after Amazon fired several workers who publicly criticized the company.He said the firings were “evidence of a vein of toxicity running through the company culture.” Amazon, which is based in Seattle, declined to comment.

SEATTLE — Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Amazon is extending its work from home plan for eligible employees through October.According to The Seattle Times, the retail giant told its corporate employees on Thursday that they “are welcome to (work from home) until at least October 2.”“We are working hard and investing significant funds to keep those who choose to come to the office safe through physical distancing, deep cleaning, temperature checks, and the availability of face coverings and hand sanitizer,” an Amazon spokesperson told the Times.Many Amazon employees have been working from home since March.

NEW YORK — The NFL has renewed its streaming deal with Amazon for Thursday night games for three years.Amazon Prime Video and Twitch also will have exclusive streaming rights to one additional regular-season game in 2020.Amazon Prime Video and Twitch will stream 11 Thursday night games broadcast by Fox, giving access to more than 150 million paid Prime members.The regular-season weekend game streamed on those outlets will be played on a Saturday in the second half of the schedule.

NEW YORK -- Amazon has spent years honing the business of packing, shipping and delivering millions of products to doorsteps around the world.Now it has a captive audience.With much of the globe in various stages of a lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, the world's largest online retailer has become a lifeline to many shoppers.