Amazon Robotics sued for $280 million by supplier left holding the bag(s)

On December 13th, Amazon's robotics division was hit with a lawsuit seeking $280 million in damages from Gilimex Inc., a Vietnamese company responsible for manufacturing the steel and fabric storage containers that hold items as they're moved around the company's warehouses.

The supplier says Amazon rushed it to ramp up production early in the pandemic, assuring the smaller company it would be notified if things change. However, last spring, Amazon's need for these parts abruptly dropped as it sharply reduced projections. After that, Gilimex claims Amazon didn't compensate Gilimex for raw materials that were purchased in advance or provide any advance warning to ramp down its production, only offering to buy a small fraction of the...

Continue reading...