---
title: Amazon’s warehouse tragedy puts its safety procedures under the microscope
description: An Amazon warehouse in Illinois was struck by a tornado, killing 6 people. Now, the company’s safety practices are under investigation.
---

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# [Amazon’s warehouse tragedy puts its safety procedures under the microscope](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/12152021-amazon-warehouse-tragedy)

 Written by [Rob Litterst](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/rob-litterst) | Dec 15, 2021 11:47:48 AM

*Photo by TIM VIZER/AFP via Getty Images*

Amazon has faced scrutiny for its warehouse practices before, but recent events have taken it to another level.

Last Friday night, an Amazon warehouse in Illinois was [struck](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/11/us/amazon-warehouse-deaths-tornado.html) by a tornado, causing part of the building to collapse, and killing at least 6 employees, per *The New York Times*.

#### **In the wake of the tragedy…**

… some of Amazon’s warehouse practices have been put under the microscope, including:

- **Cellphone bans*:** The practice prohibits employees from using phones on the warehouse floor unless it’s an emergency. Employees [argue](https://nypost.com/2021/12/13/amazon-warehouse-workers-slam-phone-ban-after-tornado-deaths/) phones are necessary to access alerts about extreme weather events before they happen.
- **Emergency training:** Some warehouse employees [say](https://theintercept.com/2021/12/13/amazon-illinois-tornado-safety-protocols/) they haven’t had any emergency training, safety training, or fire drills during their time at the company — in some cases stretching as far back as 6 years.

Employees who previously insisted on safety drills were met with resistance due to scheduling challenges and a general pause on safety drills during the pandemic.

One former member of the safety committee at a distribution center in Kent, Washington, claims the reason is more sinister: “It’s because it would cost them a lot of money to stop production long enough to do it.”

#### **Investigators are stepping in**

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has [opened](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-13/amazon-s-fatal-warehouse-collapse-is-being-investigated-by-osha?sref=3Ac2yX40) an investigation into the building collapse.

The organization has 6 months to assess if there were any clear-cut safety violations and determine the scope of penalties from there.

***NOTE: **Amazon isn’t the only logistics company that bans cellphones on the warehouse floor — FedEx also [faced](https://nypost.com/2021/12/13/amazon-warehouse-workers-slam-phone-ban-after-tornado-deaths/) recent scrutiny over the practice.

[View full post](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/12152021-amazon-warehouse-tragedy)

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