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Amazon announces the death of an employee at the controversial Staten Island facility
Dave Lee in San Francisco
A worker at an Amazon facility in Staten Island, New York, died of the coronavirus, the company confirmed, bringing the total number of employees killed by Covid-19 to three.
The Staten Island facility, known to staff as JFK8, had become a focus of worker activism after the virus spread among Amazon’s vast logistics operation.
Warehouse workers were informed of the employee’s death Monday night. It has not been named.
An Amazon spokeswoman said the man was last on the site on April 5 and tested positive for the virus on April 11. The man’s family informed Amazon of his death on Monday.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of an associate at our site on Staten Island,” said the spokeswoman. “His family and loved ones are in our thoughts, and we are supporting his colleagues.”
At least three Amazon workers are known to have died from coronavirus. Last week, a worker in Tracy, California, was reported to have died of complications related to Covid-19, while another worker in Hawthorne, in the southern state, died last month.
In March, a small number of workers went on strike at the Staten Island site. One of them, Christian Smalls, was later fired.
That action, and conditions at Amazon facilities in general, are being investigated by New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
Amazon previously said it has embarked on an unprecedented effort to secure protective gear and take other steps to keep its employees safe, at an expected cost of around $ 4 billion in the current quarter alone.
