Looking to hire 30,000, Amazon plans nationwide job fairs
NEW YORK — The online shopping giant Amazon is holding job fairs across the country next week, aiming to hire more than 30,000 people by early next year, a 5% bump in its total workforce.Amazon is looking for all kinds of workers, from software engineers who can earn more than $100,000 a year, to warehouse staff paid at least $15 an hour to pack and ship online orders.
G-7 nations pledge $40 million to fight Amazon fires
PORTO VELHO, Brazil — The Group of Seven nations on Monday pledged tens of millions of dollars to help fight raging wildfires in the Amazon and protect its rainforest, even as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro accused rich countries of treating the region like a "colony."The international pledges at a G-7 summit in France included $20 million from the group, as well as a separate $12 million from Britain and $11 million from Canada.
Amazon: Facial recognition program for cops detects emotion
SEATTLE — Amazon has announced its facial recognition program used by one Washington state police agency can now detect emotion, generating concerns from privacy advocates.KING-TV reported Thursday that Amazon announced its Rekognition tool has been enhanced to detect basic emotions, including fear.Officials say the American Civil Liberties Union is seeking a delay on police use of the product without regulation until the implications are discussed.Amazon says Rekognition could be used to monitor unsafe online content and find missing persons on social media.The ACLU says it tested the tool by comparing Congress members to a database of mug shots and found 28 false matches were returned.Amazon says the ACLU did not use the tool correctly.Amazon says the Washington County Sheriff's Office is the only agency using it.
FBI: Amazon delivery drivers involved in theft ring for 6 years
SEATTLE — The two contract delivery drivers working for Amazon had a clear-cut assignment: They were supposed to bring packages from a warehouse south of Seattle to a post office for shipping, or sometimes drive to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to pick up items that were being returned to the company.Instead, the FBI said in a search warrant affidavit unsealed last month, they routinely stole the items and sold them at pawn shops.A police detective last summer noticed that one of the drivers had dozens of pawn shop transactions, and thus began an investigation that uncovered a theft ring that sold millions of dollars' worth of stolen goods on Amazon.com in the past six years, the FBI said.According to the search warrant affidavit, two storefront businesses posing as pawn shops bought the goods from shoplifters, then had the items shipped to Amazon warehouses, where they were stored until sold online.Entities associated with the alleged ringleader did at least $10 million in sales on Amazon since 2013, FBI agent Ariana Kroshinsky wrote in her affidavit.
FBI: Amazon drivers part of major theft ring
SEATTLE — The FBI says a theft ring in Washington state sold millions of dollars' worth of stolen goods on Amazon.com in the past six years, and a pair of Amazon delivery drivers was involved.According to a search warrant affidavit reviewed by The Associated Press, two storefront businesses posing as pawn shops bought the goods from shoplifters, then had the items shipped to Amazon warehouses, where they were stored until sold online.The affidavit says two contract Amazon drivers whose job was to pick up items being returned to the company instead routinely stole the goods and sold them to the pawn shops.The FBI said the ringleader had received at least $10 million selling items on Amazon since 2013.No charges have yet been filed.
Apparent Prime Day pricing error may cost Amazon
Whoops: Amazon, apparently in error, priced a bunch of very expensive camera gear for $94.48 on Prime Day—and is honoring at least some of the sales.First, someone noticed a camera normally priced at $548 was listed for $94.48 and submitted the deal to Slickdeals.
Amazon extends celebration: A look at the hottest deals for Prime Day
MILWAUKEE -- It's like Black Friday for Amazon shoppers!
Amazon set to make big announcement that will impact its workforce across the country
MILWAUKEE -- Amazon is set to make a big announcement Thursday, July 11 that will impact its workforce across the country.
Amazon adds new option: Buy on Amazon, pick up at Rite Aid
NEW YORK — Amazon is adding a new way to get your packages: head over to another store's sales counter to pick it up.Starting Thursday, Amazon shoppers will be able to fetch their orders at more than 100 Rite Aid stores across the United States.
Amazon adds more jets to its growing fleet
NEW YORK — Amazon's fleet of jets is getting bigger.The online shopping giant said Tuesday that it will lease 15 more Boeing 737s as it seeks to grow its delivery business and get packages to shoppers' doorsteps faster.
Amazon to shut down US restaurant delivery service
NEW YORK — Amazon said Tuesday that it is closing its U.S. restaurant delivery service, a 4-year-old business that failed to take off amid fierce competition from Uber Eats, DoorDash and others.The service, called Amazon Restaurants, offered delivery in more than 20 cities in the U.S. It expanded into the United Kingdom, but Amazon shut down the service in that country late last year.
FedEx will stop air shipments of packages for Amazon
NEW YORK -- FedEx is dropping a contract for air shipment of packages for Amazon within the United States, reducing its ties with the online retail giant that is already expanding its own delivery business.FedEx said Friday that it will not renew the contract for domestic FedEx Express handling of Amazon shipments when the deal expires June 30.It's "a strategic decision" that will let FedEx focus on thousands of other retailers including Target, Walgreens and Walmart, company spokeswoman Katie Wassmer.In a statement, Amazon said only that it respected FedEx's decision and thanked the delivery company for serving Amazon customers over the years.Amazon.com Inc.
Amazon Prime to be 1-day shipping instead of 2
NEW YORK -- Amazon says its free shipping for Prime members will be even faster, promising one-day shipping on most items instead of two-day delivery.The company didn't say when the change would happen, but says it has been growing its warehouses and shipping network to offer faster deliveries.Amazon has long offered delivery in a day or quicker for some items, but the change will mean free one-day shipping will be the default, rather than two-day.The move is likely to put even more pressure on big retailers, which have been racing to ship faster to catch up with Amazon.Amazon says it will offer one-day shipping to its Prime members around the world.
Food stamps recipients can now order groceries online for delivery; Amazon, Walmart and ShopRite will offer the service
NEW YORK — Walmart, Amazon and grocery chains like ShopRite hope to tap into a lucrative new market: Food stamp recipients who want to shop for groceries online.For the first time, the US Department of Agriculture has given the green light for recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to use their benefits to buy groceries online and get them delivered to their homes, the agency said Thursday.The retailers are kicking off a two-year pilot in New York that will enable some of the state's 2.7 million SNAP recipients to use their benefits for online grocery orders.ShopRite and Amazon will service the New York City area, while Walmart will cover upstate locations.
WEDC approves $7.5M in tax credits for Amazon fulfillment center in Oak Creek
OAK CREEK -- The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation approved tax incentives for the new Amazon facility being built in Oak Creek.Amazon officials said they expect to create 1,500 jobs at the 640,000 square foot fulfillment center going up in the Ryan Business Park just off I-94.The WEDC is awarding the company $7.5 million in tax credits for job creation and capital investment.The actual amount will depend on how many jobs are created and the amount of investment before 2024.
Stunning reversal: Amazon will not build new headquarters in New York
NEW YORK — Amazon will not be building a new headquarters in New York, a stunning reversal after a yearlong search.The online retailer faced opposition from some New York politicians, who were unhappy with the nearly $3 billion in tax incentives Amazon was promised.
Police: Mother of dead baby left at Amazon facility denied knowing she was pregnant
PHOENIX — Police say a worker accused of putting her newborn in a bathroom trash can at an Amazon distribution center in Phoenix, where the child was found dead, told investigators she didn't know she was pregnant.Samantha Vivier of Tonopah (TOE'-no-pah), Arizona, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of unlawful disposal of human remains.