Amazon Ends Speedy Delivery by Kia Soul in Favor of Gig Workers
(Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc. is ending an experiment that saw drivers in Kia Souls make same-day deliveries and will rely on its network of gig-economy workers instead.
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In the test, Amazon contract delivery firms in several US states deployed drivers for four- or five-hours shifts in the boxy little Kia Corp. hatchbacks. The trial, which began to roll out in 2023, gave the world's largest online retailer more control over deliveries. If widely deployed, it also could have reduced the company's reliance on Amazon Flex drivers, who use their own cars to ferry orders to customers' homes. Those gig workers will now pick up the affected routes.
Owners of the participating Delivery Service Partners, as Amazon calls its contract delivery firms, were recently notified that the quick-delivery program will be winding down over the next few months, the company confirmed.
'After more than a year of gathering feedback from customers, DSPs, and teams at Same-Day Delivery facilities, we've determined that the DSP model isn't currently the right fit for Same-Day Delivery and we'll be moving away from it,' Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly said in an emailed statement. 'We appreciate the contributions from participating DSPs and their teams, and we'll provide support throughout this transition.'
Amazon tested the concept in Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio, Texas and Washington. Kelly said the affected DSPs can operate other Amazon routes and that the company will help drivers get jobs with other firms, if necessary. The program's vehicles were rentals and will be returned to the vendor, he said.
Amazon, which started out relying exclusively on the US Postal Service and other carriers to get goods to customers, in the last decade built a sprawling logistics operation centered around small businesses. These DSPs lease blue Amazon Prime-branded vans and employ the drivers, who might deliver 200 or more packages a day.
Flex drivers opt in via a smartphone app and typically deliver packages from Amazon's same-day delivery depots.
Both programs have been criticized by workers' advocates who contend that the drivers, operating at Amazon's direction, should be classified as company employees.
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