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Amazon drops more logistics providers, citing safety, performance issues

Logistics provider Delivery Force Corp., a last-mile provider, also recently announced layoffs at its facilities in North Carolina, Kentucky and Washington after its Amazon contract was canceled. Photo: Delivery Force

Thousands of delivery drivers across the country who work for small and medium-size logistics companies that contract with Amazon.com found out in mid-February they may lose their jobs in April, though Amazon said they will have opportunities for other positions with its partners.

On Friday, Transportation Brokerage Specialists Inc. (TBS), headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, became the latest company to file a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice of a mass layoff. The brokerage has been operating since 2016. 

According to the TBS letter, it will lay off more than 900 drivers and employees at offices in California, Washington, Arizona and Oregon, after losing its contract with Amazon.

Michael Owens, chief operations officer of TBS, declined FreightWaves’ request for comment regarding the reasons its Amazon’s contract was canceled.


Another logistics company, Express Parcel Service LLC, also known as Express Pack Service, headquartered in Doral, Florida, issued a WARN Act notice that it will permanently lay off nearly 270 drivers and office workers at its facilities in Fort Myers, Miami, St. Petersburg, Tampa and Palmetto, Florida.

According to its WARN notice, the layoff is “a result of the company ending its business relationship with Amazon,” Pompey Mansilla, executive vice president of Express Parcel Services, said in the letter.

Prior to the company’s contract cancellation, Express Parcel said it had more than 400 routes in three states.

Approximately 74 delivery drivers and employees will also be permanently laid off at Express Parcel’s terminal in Smyrna, Georgia. An additional 51 delivery drivers and employees will lose their jobs at the company’s terminal in Charlotte, North Carolina, according to WARN notices filed in those states.


Kent, Washington-based Logistics provider Delivery Force Corp., a last-mile provider, also recently announced layoffs. It will eliminate 24 delivery and employee positions at its facility in Charlotte, North Carolina. Approximately 23 delivery drivers and one operations manager will be eliminated at the company’s Hebron, Kentucky, office, the company said in its WARN notice.

The logistics provider also announced it was laying off 272 drivers and office workers in Washington state.

An Amazon spokeswoman cited a range of issues in its decision to cut ties with some logistics providers.

“Prior to launching the Delivery Service Partner program to empower entrepreneurs to build their businesses with Amazon, we contracted with a number of small logistics companies,” the spokeswoman said. “Some of these companies have not met our bar for safety, performance or working conditions, and we’re in the process of exiting them from the program.

The spokeswoman said there will be little impact on the drivers, as they can move into other positions with Amazon partners.

“We are planning for there to be zero or very little net job loss in these communities because nearly all impacted employees of these companies will have an opportunity to move into other delivery driver roles with Amazon partners,” she said.

FreightWaves previously reported that Bear Down Logistics and Kansas-based RCX Logistics, also known as RailCrew Xpress, announced closures after Amazon canceled contracts with the companies.


FreightWaves’ Eric Kulisch contributed to this report.

Read more articles by FreightWaves’ Clarissa Hawes


10 Comments

  1. Bigdee

    Funny that amz didn’t get into the logistics game until the elds went in to effect and if you don’t pay but 2.3 percent on billions of dollars worth of revenue you can do anything

    1. Noble1 suggests SMART truck drivers should UNITE & collectively cut out the middlemen from picking truck driver pockets ! UNITE , CONQUER , & YOU'LL PROSPER ! IMHO

      It’s a mere coincidence in his plan . Bezos is obsessed with control which ensures his plan is executed precisely as he wants it . It was just a question of time before he arrived to the point of eliminating the middleman in shipping .

      First he had to concentrate on growth to arrive at that point . ELD’s don’t affect him due to shipping within a short radius . To cut costs he subcontracts that portion of the last mile . But he’s drawing in heat due to that method . He’s going to have to change his strategy a little .

      He’s going to run into huge problems due to his size , and organized labour unions due to pushing his employees too hard . Amazon is fighting off Unions like a plague . It’s just a question of time before labour unions outwit him .

      You just watch . If the Democrats get elected he’s going to get hit hard in the pocket book .

      Quote:
      Why Trump Doesn’t Go After Jeff Bezos ……….. Google it .
      Bezos made his massive fortune the old fashioned way, as a monopolist. Amazon has nasty, predatory habits of bullying sellers that don’t meet its terms, vacuuming up potential competitors, and of course keeping massive information on customers that give it an unfair leg up on its rivals.

      There has never been a behemoth company more ripe for antitrust action than Amazon.”
      End quote .

      IMHO

      1. Noble1 suggests SMART truck drivers should UNITE & collectively cut out the middlemen from picking truck driver pockets ! UNITE , CONQUER , & YOU'LL PROSPER ! IMHO

        Check this out on youtube , LOL !

        Amazon’s Union-Busting Training Video (LONG VERSION

  2. 2lazy2p

    As the MOB says: it is only business. It’s not personal. ……… The big fish eat the little fish. Its life in the year 2020. If you don’t like it = go swim in another pond…………….

  3. Bill Lasseter

    Sure. Move over and work for Amazon. Sounds great if you don’t mind working for 65 percent of your former wages. All in all. It’s just about getting a cheaper work force that will turn over quickly. As a 3 year employee of TBS. We were treated and paid fairly. Now all gone

  4. Elvis Durant

    If these are cargo Van’s home delivery services, these idiots should know better! Been saying this for quite a while now. How can you do business with amazon with the rates they pay???? This is the end result. Expect more of those carriers to go under while dealing with Amazon……

        1. Noble1 suggests SMART truck drivers should UNITE & collectively cut out the middlemen from picking truck driver pockets ! UNITE , CONQUER , & PROSPER ! IMHO

          Employee misclassification into independent contractor tactics & loopholes !

          Check out Frontline : Amazon Empire : The rise and reign of Jeff Bezos

          IMHO

  5. Noble1 suggests SMART truck drivers should UNITE & collectively cut out the middlemen from picking truck driver pockets ! UNITE , CONQUER , & PROSPER ! IMHO

    You should watch the episode on Frontline titled : Amazon Empire : The rise and reign of Jeff Bezos .

    The guy knows how to take advantage of loopholes . Therein lies the edge that lead him to his “reign” .

    IMHO

Comments are closed.

Clarissa Hawes

Clarissa has covered all aspects of the trucking industry for 16 years. She is an award-winning journalist known for her investigative and business reporting. Before joining FreightWaves, she wrote for Land Line Magazine and Trucks.com. If you have a news tip or story idea, send her an email to [email protected].