Khaberni - Amazon company stated this Sunday that it has decided to back down from its plans to deliver goods by drones in Italy, although it made good progress with the aviation regulatory authorities, broader regulatory and business issues prevented the project's completion.
The Italian Civil Aviation Authority described the decision as unexpected, stating in an announcement that the move is driven by company policy and linked to "recent financial events that affected the group."
Amazon had announced in December 2024 that it successfully completed initial tests of its delivery drones in the town of San Salvo, located in the central Abruzzo region.
Amazon said in a statement to Reuters on Sunday: "After reviewing our strategy, we decided to pull back from our commercial plans to deliver parcels by drones in Italy."
The company added: "Despite the positive involvement and progress made with the Italian aviation regulatory authorities, the broader regulatory framework for business in the country does not support, at this time, our long-term goals for this program."
In 2024, Amazon recorded profits amounting to $59 billion (about €50 billion), nearly double its 2023 earnings of $30 billion.
Despite these record results, the company seems to be heading towards a deep restructuring in preparation for an era of automation and artificial intelligence, which will change the global workforce landscape.
In October, a report by the Wall Street Journal indicated that Amazon will begin laying off about 30,000 employees during the year, roughly 10% of the employees at its Seattle headquarters, including in the human resources, cloud computing, and marketing sectors.
This wave is the most substantial since 2022, when Amazon laid off 27,000 employees after excessively hiring during the post-coronavirus pandemic phase, which saw a considerable rise in the demand for digital services and e-commerce.
The new layoffs come at a time when the American tech giant is facing complex economic challenges, as the tariffs imposed by the administration of President Donald Trump have led to price increases and reduced profit margins for the company.
Additionally, the American labor market is experiencing increasing pressures as the pace of reliance on artificial intelligence accelerates in various fields, reducing the need for human labor in several sectors.
