Amazon sheds more than 1,200 delivery drivers

More than 1,200 Amazon delivery drivers have been laid off in recent months after the company cut contracts with several small delivery companies across the country. 

Amazon informed at least seven firms that are a part of its Delivery Service Partner (DSP) program that it was severing their contracts. The companies announced they’d be laying off about 1,205 drivers and closing facilities in Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filings submitted this month and in recent months to state officials. The WARN Act requires employers to provide advance notice, generally within 60 days, of mass layoffs and plant closings.

Amazon’s DSP program, launched in 2018, has allowed the company to quickly scale up its last-mile delivery capabilities and compete with shipping partners like UPS and FedEx. DSPs are contracted delivery providers, usually distinguishable by Amazon-branded cargo vans, that are responsible for picking up packages from Amazon delivery stations and dropping them off at doorsteps. 

Many of the firms impacted by Amazon’s culling of DSPs have shuttered locations and announced layoffs across several states. Courier Distribution Systems, a delivery partner in Georgia, is laying off 273 drivers in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Massachusetts-based Systemize Logistics is closing locations in Connecticut and New York, eliminating 121 jobs.

An Amazon spokesperson told CNBC in a statement that the company regularly evaluates its carrier partnerships. In another recent round of layoffs, beginning in February, the company ended contracts with Transportation Brokerage Specialists, Bear Down Logistics, Express Parcel Service and Delivery Force, among several other firms, resulting in at least 2,000 layoffs. 

“We have ended relationships with some partners and Amazon is working closely with all impacted drivers to ensure they find opportunities to deliver Amazon packages with other local Delivery Service Partners with little to no disruption to pay,” the spokesperson added.