Amazon to close 5 delivery warehouses in Mass.

Local

The company said workers can transfer to another local warehouse.

Amazon plans to close five delivery warehouses in Massachusetts to help cope with overgrowth during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Boston Globe reported Thursday.

The five delivery warehouses are in Milford, Dedham, Everett, Randolph, and Mansfield. The Globe reported that a timeline for the closure has not been announced.

The newspaper reported that it is also unclear how many workers will be affected by the closure, but that a spokesperson said workers will have the option to transfer to other local delivery warehouses.

WCVB reported that the spokesperson said some of the transfer options are as close as seven miles to where employees currently work.

“We regularly look at how we can improve the experience for our employees, partners, drivers, and customers, and that includes upgrading our facilities,” the spokesperson said.

“These facilities provide upgraded amenities, including increased on-site parking, larger operational spaces, and better breakrooms with open market vending.”

Despite the e-commerce giant’s growth during the pandemic, raking in 220% year-over-year profits in April 2021, it is now cutting back. At the beginning of the month, USA Today reported that Amazon had paused the creation of 18 warehouses across 12 states.

“We made conscious decisions in 2020 and early 2021 to not let space be a constraint on our business,” Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky said during an April call with investors, the Globe reported. “Now that demand patterns have stabilized, we see an opportunity to better match our capacity to demand.”

Even so, just last March, Amazon opened a same-day fulfillment center in Bridgewater. In June, the company opened a Tech Hub in the Seaport which will be home to over 2,00 workers.

The company also has plans for opening an Amazon Fresh grocery store in Saugus in a former Big Y.