Amazon's phone ban criticized in wake of Illinois warehouse collapse

An Amazon warehouse in Illinois collapsed after it was hit by a tornado on Friday, killing at least six people. Now the retail giant is being criticized as it considers reinstating a policy that bans workers from carrying their mobile phones on warehouse floors, as employees fear it would prevent them from receiving weather warnings in the future.

Bloomberg reports that some Amazon facilities have been slowly reinstating a long-standing policy of banning mobile phones in warehouses, after easing the prohibition amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. In a separate report, Bloomberg says it's seen documents calling for the official return of the policy in January, although discussions are in flux. As such, Amazon's warehouse workers may eventually once again be required to leave their phones in lockers, as well as clear metal detectors.

However, Amazon has denied the existence of an anti-phone policy altogether.

"We allow employees and our partners, to include contractors, to have their phones with them," an Amazon spokesperson told Mashable. "That’s applicable across all of our sites."

And yet, employees still worry that they will be banned from accessing their phones.

"After this, everyone is definitely afraid of not being able to keep their phones on them," an Amazon worker told Bloomberg, speaking on the Illinois warehouse collapse.

Banning phones would cut employees off from important information such as weather safety warnings, workers told Bloomberg. Further, workers may be unable to quickly contact emergency services or their loved ones in the event of a disaster — particularly if they're trapped in rubble.

The worker noted that most colleagues they'd spoken to wanted to keep their phones for emergencies rather than personal matters. Considering the rapid speed at which they're required to work to meet productivity targets, there's probably little time for scrolling through Twitter anyway.

"The company’s obsession with speed has come at a huge cost for Amazon’s workforce," the Strategic Organizing Center wrote earlier this year. A study by the SOC found that Amazon warehouse workers are being injured more frequently and more severely than those in other warehouses, with the rate of serious injuries almost 80 percent higher.

The recent incident in Illinois isn't even the first time people have been killed in an Amazon warehouse collapse caused by a tornado: Two men died in a Baltimore warehouse in 2018. 

"After these [most recent] deaths, there is no way in hell I am relying on Amazon to keep me safe," an Amazon worker from another Illinois facility told Bloomberg. "If they institute the no cell phone policy, I am resigning."

In response to Friday's warehouse collapse, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos tweeted "thoughts and prayers" for the deceased workers' families and loved ones.

On Saturday, Bezos' Blue Origin aerospace company sent six passengers on a joyride to space.

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"We’re deeply saddened by the news that members of our Amazon family passed away as a result of the storm in Edwardsville, IL," said Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel in a statement to Mashable. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their loved ones, and everyone impacted by the tornado. We also want to thank all the first responders for their ongoing efforts on scene. We’re continuing to provide support to our employees and partners in the area."

UPDATE: Dec. 14, 2021, 12:42 p.m. This story has been updated with clarifications about Amazon's anti-phone policy, which Amazon claims is inactive.