In 2019, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) offered people a way to start their own business by investing a minimum of $10,000 to lease vehicles and deliver packages for the company. With the promise to earn up to $300,000 a year, many users flocked to invest with the company.
While things might be going well for some Amazon delivery partners, the same cannot be said for all of them. Recently, Ted Johnson, one of the partners, reported facing many difficulties working with Amazon. Johnson said that things became so hard he was later forced to sell his business at a loss.
Among the complaints brought by Johnson include a glitch in Amazon’s software that would often penalize drivers unfairly. The software was designed to increase efficiency and prevent dangerous driving. He also complained that the company expected drivers to deliver an impossible number of packages in a shift.
Other delivery drivers who use their cars have also decided to sue the company for falsely classifying them as independent contractors and refusing to give them fair wages and reimbursements.
Amazon has long had friction with residents who complain the company has increased traffic and homelessness in Seattle. While the CEO, Andy Jassy, hopes to repair Seattle’s relationship with the company, he still plans to expand in Redmond and Bellevue.
Amazon facing a lawsuit against warehouse workers in Colorado
Amazon is also facing a class-action lawsuit in Colorado for not paying warehouse workers for their time during a COVID-19 screening per Colorado state law. Jeniffer Vincenzetii, who filed the lawsuit, says the company would not pay them even after making them make long screening lines.
Amazon gets a $600 million tax break in 2021
More controversy is now following the company as Good Jobs First reports it has received $600 million this year. Since 2000, the company has had about $4.1 billion in tax breaks. Corporate subsidies incentivize companies to move to a new location though many point to new research that companies might not need them. So far this year, Amazon has opened 250 warehouses.
Despite the bad news, Amazon’s game, New World, has seen success, with about 1 million people playing it every day. This comes after a series of fails in the gaming industry, including the 2020 release of Crucible, which received negative reviews.
