A tornado warning earlier this week has prompted several Amazon Flex delivery drivers to get locked out of an Oklahoma City warehouse without assist, something that could make Bruno Mars sing his 2012 hit “Locked Out of Heaven” over again. A tornado is usually the precedent of an impending storm.
Videos captured by the Amazon workers that Ridesharing Forum has seen from NewsNation local affiliate KFOR show staff at the facility turning away the delivery drivers before shutting the warehouse doors on them as tornado sirens blasted off.
One of the Amazon Flex delivery drivers told the media they walked up to the building to ask an employee why drivers were being instructed to leave.
“I just kind of looked him in the face, and I was like, ‘These sirens are going off, my friend … we need shelter,’” the driver, who requested not to be identified, told Ridesharing Forum. “He just pointed at the security guard and was like, ‘We do what he says.’”
A few moments later, the driver continued, a worker grabbed the door and shut it.
Clearly, there were misunderstandings on standard operating procedures, and Amazon isn’t admitting fault, to say the least.
“We’ve suspended the employees involved while we investigate,” an Amazon representative, Sam Stephenson, said.
What was that tornado and storm in Oklahoma City? The monster tornado was scary, according to the warning, and the metro witnessed hail and heard strong wind gusts as tornado-warned storms moved across.
Right now, the storm has already steered north, and the tornado, well, fell apart, weather specialists stated, but the whole incident left the Amazon Flex workers “dehumanized.”
“My first thought after we got back into the car was that I guess they’re prioritizing their merchandise and their equipment over the lives of their workers,” one of the drivers told the Ridesharing Forum site
However, Amazon has issued their apology, despite not taking the full blame, saying it has reached out to everybody to ensure that this never happens again.
The eCommerce platform has already delegated a team of meteorologists to track weather conditions day-in, day-out, to help guide “operational” decision-making processes.
“Depending on conditions, that may mean delaying shifts, rerouting drivers, or pausing operations until it’s safe,” Amazon pointed out.
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