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Local Amazon facilities dealing with their busiest holiday season yet

Local Amazon workers are getting ready for their busiest holiday season. Channel 2 anchor Sophia Choi visited the hub in Smyrna, where she learned the giving season also means the thieving season.

Thieves know deliveries are already up with so many people ordering household essentials online during COVID-19 pandemic. Now with holiday gifts going out, Amazon says safety is a top priority.

Bid on Equipment recently did the study looking at where porch pirates are striking the most during the pandemic based on Google searches. The study ranked Atlanta as 15th highest in the nation for porch pirates.

“We analyzed over 300 search terms around package theft,” study author Matt Zajechowski said.

Some of those packages are coming from Amazon, which is expecting unprecedented amounts of orders this holiday season.

“It’s expected to be Amazon’s busiest holiday season yet,” Amazon spokesperson Ashley Lansdale said.

“We’re delivering thousands and thousands of packages a day,” said Michael Finch, an Amazon delivery partner.

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Channel 2 Action News got a behind the scenes look as drivers carefully choreograph the loading process. Amazon deals with thousands of deliveries a day on top of household essentials families are ordering.

The virus and being safe are top of mind at Amazon.

“This is just something that we have put first. We’re making sure that everyone stays as safe as possible. It’s the number one priority for us, in order to get our customers their essential items, their holiday gifts and anything else they can need right now,” Lansdale said.

Amazon says customers can protect themselves from porch pirates by using the map tracking on its app or by using one of their lockers scattered around the metro area.

Amazon hasn’t announced a deadline yet to get gifts to loved ones by Christmas Eve, but it will be delivering right through Christmas Eve.

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