US lawmakers press Amazon on warehouse-rebuilding plan

Bloomberg

Three US lawmakers questioned Amazon.com Inc’s plans for rebuilding an Illinois warehouse that collapsed in a tornado last year, killing six workers and prompting an investigation by workplace safety regulators.
The lawmakers said the e-commerce company should be constructing the warehouse with stronger safety features than existed before the collapse. Amazon is a tenant in the facility owned by a separate company.
“Workers have a right to safety at work, and employers have a duty to ensure, to the best of their ability, that their workplace is safe from harm and built to withstand reasonably expectable safety risks,”
according to the letter signed by Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri, all Democrats.
“Amazon had reasonable cause to be concerned about tornado risk and should have updated the facility with a specifically designed storm shelter to avoid the exact sort of disaster that occurred a year ago.”
The deadly tornado ripped through an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, last December, killing six workers and injuring several others.
In a letter addressed to Amazon Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy, the lawmakers said Amazon has begun reconstruction of the facility “only to meet the same ‘pre-loss conditions’” that it had previously. The lawmakers said “it is clear that Amazon’s effort to protect workers at the Edwardsville facility were sorely lacking.”

Amazon devices chief pledges big Alexa bets despite job cuts

Bloomberg

Amazon.com Inc’s devices chief said the company remains committed to building out the Alexa ecosystem despite job cuts in the once fast-growing division.
When Amazon last month initiated its biggest-ever round of layoffs, they fell first and hardest on the Devices and Services group. The unit is responsible for the Alexa voice-activated assistant, Echo smart speakers, Fire streaming devices and home robots.
In an interview, Senior Vice President Dave Limp called the cuts “a painful event and not one you ever want to do.”
Still, he said: “Is there some lack of commitment to Amazon’s devices and services business? By any measure, the answer is no.” He cited continued big bets on Alexa, Zoox self-driving taxis and Kuiper internet satellites as evidence that CEO Andy Jassy is willing to invest billions on projects that might not pay off for years.
“I’ve yet to be in a meeting where he doesn’t call out those as big inventions and big bets,” Limp said.