 |
| Amazon's ambitions for Amazon Prime Air remain |
Amazon has laid off dozens of long-awaited R&D and manufacturing workers for the Amazon Prime Air parcel shipping project.
As the Financial Times reported on Thursday, the e-commerce giant is seeking outside help to fulfill its latest ambitions.
In the past few weeks, the company signed an initial contract with two outside companies to manufacture parts for its long-awaited drone. According to the company, this is one way to deliver smaller Amazon packages in the future.
Not all terms of the agreement are concluded with FACC Aerospace of Austria and Aernnova Aerospace of Spain.
The Amazon Prime Air project was first revealed in 2013 by Amazon's founders, but drone deliveries are still far from the company.
In contrast, Jeff Wilk, the main global consumer of Amazon, announced to the public in Las Vegas last year that the shipping would be via Amazon Prime Air.
“We hope to expand Amazon Prime Air quickly and efficiently and deliver packages to customers via drones within a few months.
An Amazon spokeswoman confirmed the layoffs, describing them as part of a division transition approved by US regulators earlier this year to start limited testing.
"As part of normal business operations, we are reorganizing the Amazon Prime Air project team," said company spokeswoman Christine Kish (Christine Kish). So that we can better adapt to the needs of the customers and the company.
Amazon has not disclosed how many employees are currently involved in the drone project. The company's general recruitment site lists 57 jobs on Amazon Prime Air, most of which are software and systems related.
The Amazon Prime Aviation project differs from the Amazon Air Cargo in that it uses a fully electric, hexagonal drone that can travel 15 miles and carry packages weighing less than 2.5 kg.
While Walmart's competitor (Walmart) will initiate delivery attempts with its drone company Zipline, Amazon remains lagging behind in the current competitive landscape.
Amazon plans to land its drones near customers' homes, which brings clear security risks.