A worker at an Amazon fulfilment centre in Troutdale, Oregon, passed away while on duty last week, with eyewitness accounts suggesting that operations at the facility may have continued even after the employee collapsed.
The incident took place at the company’s PDX9 warehouse, where the worker reportedly fell during their shift, as first reported by TechCrunch.
Amazon confirmed the death in an official statement, saying it had reached out to the employee’s family and was providing support to colleagues at the site. “We’re deeply saddened by the passing of a member of our team, and our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with their loved ones during this difficult time,” Amazon spokesperson Sam Stephenson said.
According to the company, staff were dismissed early that day and received full pay for the rest of their shift. The following night shift was also called off, with those workers compensated as well.
Despite this, an investigation by The Western Edge painted a more troubling picture, alleging that the worker’s body lay on the warehouse floor as activity carried on around him. Social media posts from people claiming to be employees at the site described unusually high temperatures inside the building at the time of the incident.
Workers pointed to the recent installation of soundproof curtains as a possible cause, suggesting the additions may have restricted airflow and driven up the heat inside the facility. Some speculated that these conditions would have made the physically demanding work considerably harder. Staff noted that the warehouse felt noticeably cooler when they returned the next day.
Amazon maintained that the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration had looked into the matter and concluded that workplace conditions were not a contributing factor in the worker’s death.
This is not the first time the PDX9 site has come under fire for its safety record. A 2018 investigation by Reveal found that more than a quarter of the facility’s employees had suffered injuries. More recent data from 2024 showed that injury rates across Amazon’s fulfilment network were running at more than double the wider warehouse industry average.
