An Amazon delivery driver from Illinois revealed that she was instructed to continue delivering packages even though she heard tornado sirens.

The dispatcher from Amazon's warehouse even told her that the tornado sirens were just a warning and were not that serious.

Amazon Driver Revealed Bothering Instructions

According to a report by Bloomberg, the driver was told by the dispatcher that returning to Amazon's warehouse would be viewed by the company as a route refusal, resulting in ending the job contract. The report includes screenshots of the conversation between the dispatcher and the driver.

The controversial conversation happened on Dec. 17, just an hour and a half before a tornado hit an Amazon warehouse that is 30 miles away from the said driver, according to The Verge. 

After being instructed twice to fulfill the job order, she was eventually told to take shelter for only 20 minutes maximum and then continue delivering.

Also Read: Amazon Furniture Assembly: Drivers to Fulfill Delivery and Setting-up Orders with Premium Service

The driver told the dispatcher that she wanted to return to the warehouse for safety purposes. However, the dispatcher told her that if she returned, she might be fired because drivers could only go back to the warehouse with undelivered packages if Amazon gave instructions.

Since the dispatcher prevented her from returning to the warehouse, she stayed in the van. The tornado touched down near a highway, and it was strong enough to throw cars in the air. Luckily, the driver is safe.

When the company was asked to comment about the accusation, Amazon told Bloomberg that the warehouse dispatcher should have directed the driver to seek shelter when she said the heard sirens and that the dispatcher should have threatened the driver under no circumstances' employment. Amazon said they are currently investigating the incident. 

Amazon's Warehouse Collapse

Last week, Amazon's warehouse in Illinois collapsed during a storm, and six employees died, according to Business Insider.

The said warehouse did not conduct any drills to ensure that the employees were prepared in emergency cases.

The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA announced that it is currently investigating the incident, and experts said that Amazon's lack of action could be traced back to the company's drive to please its customers, even if it is at the expense of their employees.

A shareholder cited the incident and filed a shareholder resolution that called for an independent audit of Amazon's working conditions.

Amazon drivers are often not direct employees of the e-commerce company. They often work at third-party companies contracted by Amazon.

The Amazon drivers have a history of being put in harm's way to meet the company's absurd quotas. Earlier this year, Amazon drivers were told to turn off the app that is used to make sure that they were driving safely.

Related Article:Amazon Allegedly Uses its Algorithm to Fire Contractual Flex Delivery Employees, Says Report

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Written by Sophie Webster