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.
Security Concerns Hit Some of the World's 'Most Livable Cities'
One Architect's Quest to Save Mumbai's Heritage From Disappearing
JFK AirTrain Cuts Fares 50% This Summer to Lure Riders Off Roads
NYC Congestion Toll Cuts Manhattan Gridlock by 25%, RPA Reports
Taser-Maker Axon Triggers a NIMBY Backlash in its Hometown
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.
Luxury Counterfeiters Keep Outsmarting the Makers of $10,000 Handbags
Ken Griffin on Trump, Harvard and Why Novice Investors Won't Beat the Pros
Is Mark Cuban the Loudmouth Billionaire that Democrats Need for 2028?
The US Has More Copper Than China But No Way to Refine All of It
Can 'MAMUWT' Be to Musk What 'TACO' Is to Trump?
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
16 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Republican Senate tax bill would add $3.3 trillion to the US debt load, CBO says
WASHINGTON — The changes made to President Donald Trump's big tax bill in the Senate would pile trillions onto the nation's debt load while resulting in even steeper losses in health care coverage, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a new analysis, adding to the challenges for Republicans as they try to muscle the bill to passage. The CBO estimates the Senate bill would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion from 2025 to 2034, a nearly $1 trillion increase over the House-passed bill, which CBO has projected would add $2.4 to the debt over a decade. The analysis also found that 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law, an increase over the scoring for the House-passed version of the bill, which predicts 10.9 million more people would be without health coverage. The stark numbers are yet another obstacle for Republican leaders as they labor to pass Trump's bill by his self-imposed July 4th deadline. Even before the CBO's estimate, Republicans were at odds over the contours of the legislation, with some resisting the cost-saving proposals to reduce spending on Medicaid and food aid programs even as other Republicans say those proposals don't go far enough. Republicans are slashing the programs as a way to help cover the cost of extending some $3.8 trillion in Trump tax breaks put in place during his first term. The push-pull was on vivid display Saturday night as a routine procedural vote to take up the legislation in the Senate was held open for hours as Vice President JD Vance and Republican leaders met with several holdouts. The bill ultimately advanced in a 51-49 vote, but the path ahead is fraught, with voting on amendments still to come. Still, many Republicans are disputing the CBO estimates and the reliability of the office's work. To hoist the bill to passage, they are using a different budget baseline that assumes the Trump tax cuts expiring in December have already been extended, essentially making them cost-free in the budget. The CBO on Saturday released a separate analysis of the GOP's preferred approach that found the Senate bill would reduce deficits by about $500 billion. Democrats and economists decry the GOP's approach as 'magic math' that obscures the true costs of the GOP tax breaks. In addition, Democrats note that under the traditional scoring system, the Republican bill bill would violate the Senate's 'Byrd Rule' that forbids the legislation from increasing deficits after 10 years. In a Sunday letter to Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, CBO Director Phillip Swagel said the office estimates that the Finance Committee's portion of the bill, also known as Title VII, 'increases the deficits in years after 2034' under traditional scoring.
Los Angeles Times
23 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Senate tax bill would add $3.3 trillion to the U.S. debt load, CBO says
WASHINGTON — The changes made to President Trump's big tax bill in the Senate would pile trillions onto the nation's debt load while resulting in even steeper losses in healthcare coverage, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a new analysis, adding to the challenges for Republicans as they try to muscle the bill to passage. The CBO estimates that the Senate bill would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion from 2025 to 2034, a nearly $1-trillion increase from the House-passed bill, which the CBO has projected would add $2.4 to the debt over a decade. The analysis also found that 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law, an increase over the estimate for the House-passed version of the bill, which predicts that 10.9 million more people would be without health coverage. The stark numbers are yet another obstacle for Republican leaders as they labor to pass Trump's bill by his declared July 4 deadline. Even before the CBO's estimate, Republicans were at odds over the contours of the legislation, with some resisting the cost-saving proposals to reduce spending on Medicaid and food aid programs even as other Republicans say those proposals don't go far enough. Republicans are slashing the programs as a way to help cover the cost of extending some $3.8 trillion in Trump tax breaks put in place during his first term. The push-pull was on vivid display Saturday night as a routine procedural vote to take up the legislation in the Senate was held open for hours as Vice President JD Vance and Republican leaders met with several holdouts. The bill ultimately advanced in a 51-49 vote, but the path ahead is fraught, with voting on amendments still to come. Still, many Republicans are disputing the CBO estimates and the reliability of the office's work. To hoist the bill to passage, they are using a different budget baseline that assumes the Trump tax cuts expiring in December already have been extended, essentially making them cost-free in the budget. The CBO on Saturday released a separate analysis of the GOP's preferred approach that found the Senate bill would reduce deficits by about $500 billion. Democrats and economists decry the GOP's approach as 'magic math' that obscures the true costs of the GOP tax breaks. In addition, Democrats note that under the traditional estimation system, the Republican bill would violate the Senate's 'Byrd Rule' that forbids the legislation from increasing deficits after 10 years. In a Sunday letter to Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, CBO Director Phillip Swagel said the office estimates that the Finance Committee's portion of the bill, also known as Title VII, 'increases the deficits in years after 2034' under traditional scoring. Hussein writes for the Associated Press.
Newsweek
28 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Senate Dems Complete Reading of 'Big, Beautiful Bill' in 16 Hours
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Senate Democrats concluded their 16-hour marathon reading of President Donald Trump's comprehensive legislative package Sunday afternoon, with Senate clerks finishing the verbal recitation of the 940-page "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" around 3:03 p.m. ET on Sunday. The reading, which began Saturday and stretched into Sunday, represents the culmination of a delay tactic orchestrated by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to force Republicans to confront the full scope of their legislation and highlight provisions Democrats argue will harm American families. This procedural maneuver highlights the deep partisan divisions surrounding Trump's flagship legislation, which he wants signed by July 4th, and demonstrates how Democrats are using every available parliamentary tool to slow Republican momentum. The forced reading of the "big, beautiful bill" represents a significant escalation in legislative warfare, with the Congressional Budget Office confirming the legislation would cut $930 billion from Medicaid. The strategy could impact millions of Americans' healthcare access while setting a precedent for future legislative battles. U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a news conference about U.S. President Donald Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill," in the U.S. Capitol on June 27, 2025 in Washington, DC. U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a news conference about U.S. President Donald Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill," in the U.S. Capitol on June 27, 2025 in Washington, bill text was released late Friday night, prompting Democrats to accuse Republicans of rushing through legislation "in the dead of night." Only Senators Rand Paul and Thom Tillis joined Democrats in opposing the 51-49 procedural vote Saturday, with Paul citing concerns about adding to the national debt and Tillis warning the bill would cost North Carolina "tens of billions of dollars in lost funding." This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
