Amazon’s cloud unit AWS said on Monday that drone strikes impacted its facilities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain amid the Middle East conflict.
This comes hours after the company’s cloud-computing facilities in the Middle East faced power and connectivity issues after unidentified “objects” struck its data centre in the UAE.
This is not the only impact Amazon is facing due to the war in Iran and its impact on the Gulf countries.
Amazon has closed its fulfilment centre in Abu Dhabi and suspended deliveries across the region as the e-commerce giant responds to the escalating instability in the Middle East, which has created ripples across the region and the world, according to a new report.
Amazon’s internal memo
Amazon shared an update on the closure of its facility in an internal memo to employees and stakeholders this week, Business Insider, which has seen this memo, reported. As a result, customers in this region are experiencing delays in deliveries and returns, the memo reportedly said.
The company has also halted any business travel to Israel and Lebanon, while many Amazon employees across the region have transitioned to a work-from-home model this week. The memo said that Amazon employees in Saudi Arabia and Jordan have been instructed to remain indoors.
There have been no reports of employee safety issues so far, Business Insider reported, citing the memo.
“Our priority is the safety of our employees and partners across the region, and we’re working closely with our local teams to ensure they have the support they need,” an Amazon spokesperson was quoted as saying by the media outlet.
The disruption serves as a reminder of how quickly geopolitical tensions can cause strain on global supply chains.
Amazon expanded its logistics footprint in the Middle East following its $600 million acquisition of Souq.com in 2017.
The UAE serves as the backbone of this network, which also comprises Amazon marketplaces in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey.
Amazon has not specified how long these delays will last or how much longer deliveries in Abu Dhabi will remain suspended.
Shipment delays
The impact of the closure of the Amazon facility is also impacting third-party sellers, extending well beyond the company’s own warehouses.
The report, citing the memo, mentioned that nearly 3 lakh third-party sellers in the Middle East are facing shipment delays and potential order cancellations with the logistics channels tightening.
Many of these third-party sellers depend on Amazon’s infrastructure for cross-border shipping across the Gulf region, which has been impacted.
According to the memo cited by Business Insider, the shutdown in Abu Dhabi is likely to reduce the network capacity of Amazon across its Middle Eastern business. The e-commerce major has also placed additional operational support on standby mode in order to manage the disruption. The company is monitoring the situation, the memo said.
This came against the backdrop of coordinated US and Israeli airstrikes across multiple Iranian cities on 28 February, targeting military command centres, air-defence systems, missile sites, and key regime infrastructure.
These strikes resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and four senior military and security officials.
Key Takeaways
- The closure of Amazon’s Abu Dhabi facility has far-reaching implications for third-party sellers in the Gulf.
- Geopolitical tensions can severely disrupt logistics and supply chains, impacting global commerce.
- Amazon is prioritizing employee safety while managing operational disruptions in the region.
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