SCHODACK – Hundreds of Amazon employees at the Schodack facility are sitting around with nothng to do since the computer system went down two hours ago, a source told the Times Union.
The outage is nationwide, according to a number of news sources which say the problem appears to be in Amazon’s vast cloud storage service. While the outage appears concentrated in the company’s eastern division, located in northern Virginia, it was impacting the services user’s globally, according to comments on the Downdetector website which tracks web-based glitches and outages around the world.
A person familiar with the situation, who didn’t want to be named, said the Schodack warehouse employing hundreds of workers is “pretty much shut down.” All of the computers are out of commission showing nothing but blank screens, the person said. Without access to the system, employees haven’t been able to scan items, prepare them for shipping or clock in and out.
“Employees are standing around with their hands in the air, asking what can we do,” the person said. “Employees are bouncing around beach balls, waiting for the word.”
The person said employees were sent to lunch early and told to return around 2:00 p.m. for a head count. But while employees sit around waiting, there’s been no communication.
“There’s no weather issues going on right here. Here locally is pretty much shut down and they’re thinking of sending everyone home,” the person said. “It’s definitely a nationwide, if not global, thing for Amazon.
“It’s prime time for Christmas and we can’t move stuff. This is a huge hit for Amazon,” the person said.
The Times Union has contacted Amazon and is waiting for a response.
Rick Karlin contributed
Source: https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Amazon-Schodack-facility-s-computers-down-16682485.php