Amazon Drew Concerns From Democrat Senators Over Laxity In Warehouse Rebuilding After 2021 Tornado

Three U.S. lawmakers challenged Amazon.Com, Inc's AMZN plans for rebuilding an Illinois warehouse that collapsed in a tornado in 2021, killing six workers and provoking an investigation by workplace safety regulators.
The lawmakers said Amazon should construct the warehouse with more robust safety features than before the collapse, Bloomberg reports.
Amazon is a tenant in the facility owned by a separate company.
Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Democrat Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri wrote that Amazon should have updated the facility with a specifically designed storm shelter to avoid the exact sort of disaster that occurred a year ago.
The deadly tornado ripped through an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, last December, killing six workers and injuring several others.
In April, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found several lapses, including that a megaphone used to alert workers was locked and inaccessible during the event.
The accident intensified public scrutiny of Amazon's workplace safety record.
The report further noted that in a letter addressed to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, the lawmakers said Amazon had begun reconstruction of the facility "only to meet the same 'pre-loss conditions'" that it had previously. The lawmakers said, "it is clear that Amazon's effort to protect workers at the Edwardsville facility were sorely lacking."
Amazon said it had strengthened its emergency response plans, increased the frequency of emergency drills, and reevaluated to ensure they meet not only OSHA requirements but also guidance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Price Action: AMZN shares closed lower by 3.42% at $88.45 on Thursday.
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