An Amazon delivery center in Edwardsville, Ill., was one of the buildings in the path of tornadoes that ripped though six states on Friday night, leaving at least 90 dead, including six at the facility. A tornado that formed in the parking lot caused about half of the 40-foot-tall structure to collapse. A candle factory in Mayfield, Ky., that had also been operating at full tilt ahead of the holiday season was leveled, trapping workers.
The tragedy raises concerns about the e-commerce giant’s use of contractors. The biggest is how Amazon prepares facilities and workers, whose ranks swell during the holiday season, for emergencies. Of the 190 people who worked at the Edwardsville delivery center, only seven were full-time Amazon employees, a local official told The Times’s Karen Weise and Eric Berger.
Industry consultants say the use of contractors lets the company avoid liability for accidents and other risks. In Edwardsville, local officials said the fact that so many of the workers at the facility were temporary made it difficult to account for all those who could be missing in the wake of the tornado, complicating initial rescue efforts.
Accounts varied about how much time workers at the facility were given to prepare for the tornado. An Amazon spokeswoman said that the facility had 11 minutes’ warning; a tornado warning for Edwardsville was in effect at 8:06 p.m. on Friday and reports of a partial roof collapse at the Amazon building came at 8:27...
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