An Amazon worker on the Troutdale, Oregon warehouse handed away at work final week, an organization spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch.
In accordance with a report from the Western Edge, an unbiased investigative outlet masking the Pacific Northwest, the employee collapsed on the ground on the PDX9 warehouse and lay lifeless as staff continued to work round him.
“We’re deeply saddened by the passing of a member of our staff, and our ideas and deepest sympathies are with their family members throughout this tough time,” Amazon spokesperson Sam Stephenson instructed TechCrunch. “We’ve been in contact along with his household and have supplied sources to help them. For workers at our PDX9 facility, we’ve supplied onsite grief counselors and extra help. We’re grateful for the work of the Multnomah County Sherrif’s Division and native emergency medical providers.”
On a Reddit discussion board for Amazon success heart staff, a number of folks claiming to work at PDX9 stated that the constructing had been particularly sizzling after soundproof curtains have been put in, which restricted airflow. They speculated that the warmth may have contributed to the worker’s dying, as it might compound the bodily calls for of success heart work. In accordance with the Western Edge, some staff observed that the constructing was cooler once they returned to work the subsequent day.
Amazon, nonetheless, stated that Oregon’s Occupational Security and Well being Administration (OSHA) decided the incident to be non-work associated. Staff have been despatched residence early and have been paid for the rest of their shift; the evening shift was cancelled, and staff scheduled to work have been paid as properly, in response to the corporate.
The PDX9 warehouse has a repute for having harsh working circumstances; in 2018, an investigation from Reveal, an investigative journalism outlet, discovered that 26% of staff on the warehouse had sustained accidents. A report primarily based on 2024 OSHA knowledge confirmed that the corporate’s success facilities report severe accidents at a charge greater than two occasions the warehouse business common.
Amazon’s success facilities have been topic to a number of probes by federal companies and prosecutors over warehouse security, with investigators alleging that the corporate manipulated knowledge and didn’t correctly doc office accidents. The USA Lawyer’s Workplace for the Southern District of New York is conducting an ongoing investigation into office security at Amazon warehouses.
Techcrunch occasion
San Francisco, CA
|
October 13-15, 2026
Amazon instructed TechCrunch that the corporate has seen a 43% discount in its international recordable incident charge since 2019 — a metric that tracks any work-related damage requiring greater than primary first support. The corporate stated it has invested greater than $2.5 billion in security enhancements since 2019, together with lots of of tens of millions of {dollars} in 2026 alone.
