Amazon rethinks warehouse cellphone ban in wake of tornado

A handout satelite image shows an overview of an Amazon warehouse after tornadoes hit the region in Edwardsville, Illinois. An Amazon spokeswoman said company policy currently allows all Amazon employees and delivery drivers to have access to their phones during their shifts. But several workers in different states told Bloomberg their managers had already resumed the ban. — AFP/Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies

Amazon.com Inc is reconsidering plans to revive a ban on cellphones in its warehouses amid the emergence of a new strain of Covid-19 and after six workers died at a facility struck by a tornado last week.

For years, Amazon prohibited employees from having their phones on warehouse floors and required them to leave them in their vehicles or in lockers near break rooms. The rule was temporarily relaxed during the pandemic, but was scheduled to resume in January, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg. Now the company’s thinking on the matter is “fluid”, according to a person familiar with the situation.