Amazon to Hold Off Warehouse Phone Ban ‘Until Further Notice’

Police tape cordons of a section of a collapsed roof at an Amazon warehouse following a tornado in Edwardsville, Illinois, on Dec. 12.

Photographer: Liam Kennedy/Bloomberg
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Amazon.com Inc. is backing off plans to ban cell phones in warehouses, allowing employees to keep their devices with them at work.

The reversal follows the emergence of a more contagious strain of Covid-19 and after six workers died at a facility struck by a tornado last week, which reinforced a desire among warehouse employees to have access to real-time information in emergencies.