A man who apparently “fell or jumped” was pronounced dead early Monday at an Amazon facility in North Las Vegas, Nevada, police said.
Officers arrived just before 7 a.m. and found the man in the building on the East Tropical Parkway in the northeast corner of metropolitan Las Vegas, said Alexander Cuevas, a spokesman for the North Las Vegas Police Department.
“Detectives have been called out and the cause and manner of death will be revealed by the coroner,” he said, adding that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been notified.
Amazon spokeswoman Lisa Levandowski said: “We are very saddened by this tragic incident. Their family and loved ones are in our minds and we are supporting our employees during this difficult time.”
She said employees were sent home with pay shortly after the incident and that they were being offered heart counseling.
An Amazon employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of losing her job, said that when she arrived at work just after 7am, there were police cars and ambulances in the parking lot.
Shortly thereafter, Amazon staff members began installing barricades along the spot where the worker was found.
“Nobody knew what was going on,” she said. “Everyone was so confused.”
The woman said supervisors told workers to keep working until about 9:40 a.m., when they were all sent home.
“It really upsets me,” she said. “The drivers knew what was going on and were going to the area, but did not send us home immediately. Someone just died. It just proves to me that drivers at Amazon do not really care as long as they get their numbers done.”
The facility, known as LAS7 after the airport code for the nearby Las Vegas airport, opened in May 2019. It is the largest Amazon fulfillment center in the state, at 855,000 square feet.
According to a report on Reddit, management is sending an SMS to LAS7 workers telling night shift workers not to come to work and saying that day and night workers will be paid for their regular shifts.
“LAS7 does intend to open 3/2 with normal working hours”, the text would have read. “Thank you and know that we appreciate and appreciate you.”
If you or someone you know is at risk for suicide, call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Helpline at 800-273-8255, SMS TALK to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
