Tech

Racist messages appearing on few product listings taken down by Amazon

Jim Stein May 31, 2020

(Technology) – Amazon.com Inc said it was removing certain images after messages using extremely strong racist abuse appeared on some listings on its UK website when users searched for Apple’s AirPods and other similar products. The message sparked outrage on Twitter, with the topic

Business

Amazon in talks to purchase self-driving startup Zoox

Nia N May 27, 2020

(Business) – Amazon.com has advanced in talks to buy Zoox, a self-driving startup, to expand its reach in autonomous-vehicle technology. Zoox is said to be valued at less than the $3.2 billion in the deal after comparison with a funding round in 2018. The agreement between Amazon and Zoox may be weeks away and the […]

Business

Amazon to hire 50,000 temp workers in India as lockdown boosts demand

Nia N May 22, 2020

BENGALURU (Business) – Amazon.com Inc’s India unit said it would hire 50,000 temporary workers to meet a surge in online shopping in the country, where customers have been stuck indoors for two months in a lockdown to fight the coronavirus outbreak. E-commerce firms faced massive disruption in the initial days of the lockdown in India, […]

Business

Amazon: ‘Appropriate’ executive to be available with Bezos called to testify

Nia N May 16, 2020

(Business) – Amazon.com Inc said on Friday it would make an “appropriate” executive available to the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee to testify about allegations related to how the company uses third-party sellers’ data. The panel had called on chief executive Jeff Bezos to testify. Amazon’s blog late on Friday did not commit

World

Amazonian indigenous chief who succumbed to COVID-19, buried with dance, singing

Jim Stein May 15, 2020

MANAUS, Brazil (World) – He had asked them to sing and dance at his funeral, and that is how they said goodbye to Chief Messias Kokama on Thursday. They sang the Brazilian national anthem in Tikuna, one of the 14 indigenous languages spoken in their ramshackle settlement on the outskirts of Manaus where 2,500 descendants […]

Tech

Amazon France warehouse closure extends to May 18

Nia N May 13, 2020

PARIS (Technology) – Amazon is planning to extend its French warehouses’ closure until May 18. Amazon’s six French warehouses have remained shut since April 16 after court rulings ordering the restriction of deliveries during the COVID-19 pandemic or the option of facing hefty fines. Amazon was continuing to consult with staff representatives and

Business

Amazon’s request for unemployment schemes rejected at six France sites

Nia N May 4, 2020

PARIS (Business) – The French government has rejected a request by Amazon to tap a state partial unemployment scheme for employees at its six warehouses in the country, a spokeswoman for the labor ministry said on Monday. The e-commerce giant has shut its six French warehouses, which employ about 10,000 people on permanent and interim […]

Business

Amazon extends work from home regime till Oct. 2

Nia N May 1, 2020

(Business) – Amazon.com Inc has told staff whose job can be done from home that they can do so until at least Oct. 2, pushing out the timeline on a return to work for many employees as it faces scrutiny over conditions in its warehouses. “Employees who work in a role that can effectively be […]

Tech

Amazon approaches Chinese firm on U.S. blacklist for thermal camera needs

Nia N April 29, 2020

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Technology) – Amazon.com Inc has bought cameras to take temperatures of workers during the coronavirus pandemic from a firm the United States blacklisted over allegations it helped China detain and monitor the Uighurs and other Muslim minorities, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. China’s Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co Ltd

World

Illegal Miners, Stay away from Amazon forest lands. Keep it Corona-free

Nia N April 25, 2020

BOGOTA – Amazon tribal leaders called on governments in South America on Friday to ensure illegal miners stay away from their forest lands as they fear outsiders could spread the coronavirus among vulnerable indigenous communities. At least 10 indigenous people in Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia have died from the highly contagious COVID-19, according to the […]