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Amazon suspends third-party sellers shipping due to COVID-19

Beginning in June, the e-commerce giant will halt Amazon Shipping, a fledgling service available in just a few cities and a direct competitor to UPS and FedEx. The program works by sending Amazon drivers right to businesses to pick up packages for consumers, instead of the usual route of packages shipped from Amazon warehouses.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon decided that due to the coronavirus pandemic and the surge in demand from people relying on Amazon’s service to deliver critical supplies directly to their doorsteps, the company needed all its workers and resources focused on the main business.

“We understand this is a change to your business, and we did not take this decision lightly,” Amazon said in a note to firms who use the service. “We will work with you over the next several weeks so there is as little disruption to your business as possible.”

In a company blog updated on March 16, 2020, Amazon says it is planning on hiring an additional 100,000 full and part-time employees across the U.S. in the company’s fulfillment centers and delivery network, according to the New York Post.

Amazon is also investing over $350 million globally to increase pay by $2/hour in the U.S., C$2 in Canada, £2/hr in the UK, and approximately €2/hr in many EU countries for employees and partners who are in fulfillment centers, transportation operations, stores or those making deliveries so that others can remain at home.

While UPS didn’t offer comment on the development, a FedEx spokeswoman says: “We are continuing to work with our small-business customers during this time to support their growth.”

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We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our dear friend Karen Graham, who served as Editor-at-Large at Digital Journal. She was 78 years old. Karen's view of what is happening in our world was colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in humankind's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, "Journalism is merely history's first draft." Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.

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