An Amazon warehouse was closed urgently and all orders were suspended!

According to foreign media reports, on September 28 local time, Amazon was forced to close a 1 million square foot warehouse in Amarillo, Texas due to an invasion of bedbugs.

The warehouse opened earlier this year and already had more than 500 employees. Amazon spokesman Sam Stephenson said that after confirming the presence of bed bugs in the warehouse, it decided to temporarily close the warehouse and emphasized that products would not be shipped to customers from the warehouse, so all customer orders would be put on hold.

As an immediate remedial measure, Amazon's inventory products will be recovered or returned to the supplier after proper inspection, and no customer orders will be processed during the warehouse closure. Only customer returns will be processed, and customer orders will be processed by other sites in the area.

Pest control companies say it's common to find bed bugs in packages and shipping envelopes. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the bed bugs that invaded Amazon's warehouses are a common pest that feeds on the blood of people and animals, usually in or near where people sleep, and can survive for a long time without feeding. However, according to the EPA, this type of bed bug does not transmit or spread diseases.

Amazon's warehouse closures due to bedbug infestations are not common. Usually, warehouse closures are due to adjustments in business strategies. For example, Amazon has closed a large number of warehouses this year because it wants to reduce operating costs. The closures are accompanied by a large number of layoffs. The relationship between Amazon and its front-line employees has been intensifying, especially during the epidemic. Employees called for higher wages, more paid leave, and adjusted productivity expectations, and also formed a union to protest.

But this time is different from the past. An Amazon spokesperson said that all workers will be paid during the closure of the warehouse. And on the same day ( September 28), foreign media reported that Amazon is raising the wages of warehouse workers and delivery workers. Starting in October, the average starting salary of Amazon's front-line employees in the United States will increase from $18 per hour to more than $19 per hour.

Amazon's wage increase is intended to attract and retain employees in a historically tight labor market and to reserve sufficient labor for the upcoming peak shopping season. After the wage increase, warehouse and delivery workers will earn between $16 and $26 per hour, depending on their position, while Amazon's minimum wage for U.S. employees remains at $15 per hour. It is reported that Amazon will spend about $1 billion on wage increases next year.

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