Thousands of New York City jobs could be at risk as Amazon warns it may shut down more than a dozen warehouses and move delivery operations outside the city if lawmakers approve a controversial labor bill backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The potential fallout could extend far beyond Amazon itself, threatening independent delivery companies, thousands of workers and the fast shipping services millions of New Yorkers rely on.
And according to industry experts, the company’s warning should not be dismissed as an empty threat.
At the center of the controversy is the Delivery Protection Act, legislation supported by Mamdani and introduced by Queens City Council Member Tiffany Cabán.
The proposal would require major delivery companies such as Amazon to directly employ workers who currently make deliveries through independent contractors. It would also establish new licensing, training and safety requirements for certain warehouses.
Supporters argue the changes would improve wages, working conditions and accountability. Opponents warn the legislation could produce the opposite result by driving jobs and businesses out of New York City.
Amazon currently operates 15 last-mile delivery facilities across the five boroughs, employing approximately 2,000 warehouse workers while relying on about 5,000 additional drivers hired through roughly 40 independent delivery companies.
Under the proposed legislation, Amazon could be required to bring those drivers directly onto its payroll, fundamentally changing a business model it uses throughout the United States.
Rather than comply, the company has warned that it could relocate operations outside city limits.
That prospect has alarmed business owners whose companies depend on Amazon’s delivery network.
Marc Wulfraat, president of logistics consulting firm MWPVL International, believes Amazon is capable of following through.
The Montreal-based consultant pointed to the company’s history of closing facilities during disputes over labor policies.
“Amazon will retaliate, because it has to send a firm message to the rest of the country,” Wulfraat told the New York Post.
His warning comes with a real-world example.
In January 2025, Amazon announced plans to close all seven of its warehouses in Quebec, Canada, shortly after employees at one facility successfully organized a union.
The closures affected approximately 1,900 Amazon employees and an additional 2,800 workers employed by delivery contractors.
Amazon denied that the decision was connected to unionization, saying it was restructuring operations to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
Canadian labor organizations challenged that explanation and accused the company of attempting to avoid its bargaining obligations.
The dispute remains significant because the closures demonstrated that Amazon was willing to abandon an established warehouse network and shift deliveries to outside logistics providers.
Industry analysts say something similar could happen in New York.
Brittain Ladd, a former Amazon executive and logistics consultant, told the Post that the company would be unlikely to hesitate if it concluded the proposed law threatened its broader business model.
The implications could be particularly serious for small companies that provide Amazon delivery services.
Kris Basmagy, owner of DashWave Delivery, operates a business responsible for Amazon deliveries on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
His company employs approximately 150 drivers.
Basmagy fears that relocating Amazon’s warehouses to neighboring New Jersey could leave businesses like his without the contracts they need to survive.
He noted that distribution facilities are already being developed near the New Jersey Turnpike, potentially giving Amazon alternative locations outside New York City’s regulatory reach.
Another business owner, Joe Artus of WGA Transit, said his company could be forced to close if the bill passes in its current form.
His Harlem delivery operation employs 189 people and has made a point of hiring individuals who previously experienced homelessness or incarceration.
Artus worries that the proposed changes could eliminate the independent contractor model on which his business depends.
For workers employed by those companies, the uncertainty is immediate.
Although the legislation is intended to strengthen employment protections, drivers could face layoffs if Amazon restructures its operations rather than hiring them directly.
But job losses are not inevitable.
Amazon has not announced a final decision to close its New York City facilities, and the legislation has not been enacted.
Supporters argue that the company’s threats reflect resistance to stronger labor standards rather than unavoidable economic consequences.
The Teamsters union has accused Amazon of using its enormous financial resources to avoid accepting greater responsibility for the people who deliver its packages.
Union representatives maintain that delivery drivers deserve stronger protections and that major corporations should not be able to avoid employment obligations through subcontracting arrangements.
Mayor Mamdani has expressed similar concerns.
When announcing his support for the Delivery Protection Act in August, he argued that large delivery companies exercise substantial control over routes, schedules and productivity expectations while leaving contractors responsible for directly employing drivers.
His administration says the legislation would increase accountability and improve safety for delivery workers, pedestrians and other New Yorkers.
However, the proposal has also raised questions about how those goals could be achieved without disrupting the local delivery economy.
Even some City Council members who support additional worker protections are reportedly concerned about the possibility of widespread layoffs.
The bill has attracted more than 30 council sponsors, but no final vote has been scheduled.
Council Speaker Julie Menin is reportedly among those concerned about the potential employment consequences.
According to a source familiar with negotiations, lawmakers have discussed possible compromises that would allow independent delivery companies to continue operating while requiring stronger safety protections and greater accountability from Amazon.
Whether those discussions will produce an agreement remains uncertain.
The potential consequences extend to consumers as well.
Amazon says closing its last-mile warehouses could increase delivery times and reduce access to rapid shipping services.
Same-day and early-morning deliveries would likely be particularly vulnerable because those services rely on warehouses located close to customers.
Without those facilities inside the city, some packages might have to travel longer distances from warehouses in New Jersey or surrounding areas.
An Amazon-funded economic study estimated that the Delivery Protection Act could increase costs for New York City consumers by approximately $664 annually, or about $5.20 per package.
That estimate covers a broader delivery market, including companies beyond Amazon, and should be treated as an industry-sponsored projection rather than an established outcome.
The company also warned that increased operating costs could eventually be passed along to shoppers.
However, the legislation’s supporters dispute the suggestion that improving labor standards must automatically result in higher prices or fewer jobs.
The disagreement highlights a larger economic question facing New York City.
Can lawmakers require greater accountability from large corporations without encouraging those businesses to shift operations beyond the city’s borders?
The answer could have consequences for companies operating in other major American cities as well.
Amazon’s delivery network depends on carefully positioned distribution facilities, and changes affecting one major market could influence how the company responds to similar legislation elsewhere.
The battle also comes as Mamdani pursues an ambitious economic agenda focused on workers, affordability and corporate accountability.
His supporters argue that stronger workplace protections are necessary in a city where many residents struggle with high living costs.
Business owners and industry analysts counter that additional employment mandates can increase operating expenses, discourage investment and place independent companies at a disadvantage.
Both concerns are now central to the debate.
For thousands of delivery workers, the immediate question is whether a law intended to protect their jobs could instead put those positions at risk.
For customers, it is whether familiar delivery speeds and prices could change.
And for New York City officials, the stakes involve balancing worker protections against the possibility that one of the country’s largest employers could move a substantial portion of its local operations elsewhere.
The Delivery Protection Act remains under consideration, and Amazon has not announced any warehouse closures.
But with thousands of jobs potentially affected and business owners warning about their future, the fight over Mamdani’s labor proposal is becoming a major test of how New York City manages its relationship with large employers.
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Instead of slowly nibbling away at functioning capitalistic based businesses, why doesn’t Mamdani just jump straight to his main objective and invoke the communistic system as the rule of law for NYC. He’ll do okay as it appears that many of the city’s constituents are already identifying as strong socialist or straight on communists.