Amazon security workers to be laid off after rebid contract

Associated Press

SEATTLE — The contractor that has provided security at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters since 2012 is preparing to lay off more than 1,000 workers.

The Seattle Times reported that Security Industry Specialists is the subject of a union organizing campaign and has struggled with high turnover and inadequate staffing. A notice of the upcoming layoffs was posted Wednesday morning by the Washington Employment Security Department.

The Los Angeles-based company won a security contract with Amazon seven years ago. At that time, more than 200 security workers were laid off by Andrews International, a union contractor which previously held the contract to patrol Amazon’s densely packed headquarters campus

Amazon has chosen Allied Universal and Securitas to handle its growing security needs after rebidding its security services contract earlier this year. An Amazon spokesperson said SIS employees will be able to apply for a job with the new company.