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Tag: delivery services

  • Amazon delivered 8 billion items to its US Prime members in less than 2 days last year

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    Amazon (AMZN) announced Tuesday that its Prime members in the US received 8 billion items on the same day or next day last year, up 30% from 2024, as the company continues to double down on speeding up delivery times across its network.

    “We focus on savings, convenience, and entertainment as the cornerstones of the Prime program, and so convenience has to go up and up as expectations go up and up,” Jamil Ghani, VP of Amazon Prime, told Yahoo Finance.

    Globally, 13 billion items were received in less than two days by Prime members.

    Amazon said that for its US Prime deliveries, half of the items delivered in less than two days were groceries or household essentials. The company said members saved $550, on average, on shipping costs.

    In 2025, Amazon invested $4 billion to expand its same-day and next-day delivery to 4,000 smaller cities, towns, and rural communities. Last week, the company announced plans to close its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores to focus on delivery services and expanding Whole Foods, which Amazon acquired in 2017.

    The company is continuing to step up its investments in faster delivery as Walmart (WMT) continues to pour money into its own delivery network, which the retailer says is able to reach 93% of US households for same-day delivery.

    Amazon expanded its same-day delivery service for perishable goods to over 5,000 US cities, with plans to expand in 2026. In 2025, the company delivered 70% more items in less than a day.

    “Think about those buildings that we’ve now built, and we’ve retrofitted them with all the lessons we’ve learned, most importantly, from Whole Foods, about how to have a seamless, high-quality, freshness-guaranteed supply chain experience for perishable items,” Ghani told Yahoo Finance.

    The company also expanded its same-day delivery network for its pharmacy business; in 2018, Amazon acquired PillPack in a bold move into the pharmacy space.

    Ghani said AI has also served as the “latest enabler” to increase delivery speeds, particularly in its pharmacy segment. Ghani said Amazon was able to cut processing time for patients by 90% compared to the pharmacy industry benchmark by removing the wait times, syncing data, and expediting document reviews.

    On its third quarter earnings call, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said being able to deliver more perishable groceries was the physical delivery opportunity he was “most excited about.”

    “We started with a few markets about a year ago, and we were really taken aback at the adoption,” Jassy added.

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  • Are Costco and Walmart open on Labor Day? Find out which grocery stores would be open for business

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    What’s Open—and What’s Closed—on Labor Day 2025

    As Labor Day approaches this year—falling on Monday, September 1, 2025—many Americans are planning barbecues, shopping excursions, or quick getaways. Here’s a breakdown of what to expect as stores, services, and institutions adjust to the federal holiday.

    Retail & Grocery Stores

    Open (mostly regular or slightly modified hours):
    Major retailers like Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Best Buy, Lowe’s, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Ross, TJ Maxx, and others (e.g., Michael’s, Petco, Staples, Big Lots, Marshalls) will be open with regular hours, offering plenty of shopping and last-minute deals.

    Grocery chains including Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Kroger (and its affiliates such as Ralphs, Harris Teeter, Pick ’n Save, Fred Meyer), Publix, Stop & Shop, Wegmans, Safeway, and Vons will also be open with usual hours.

    Open with adjusted or limited hours:

    Aldi will operate, but most locations will close early—commonly around 6 p.m., though you should check ahead.
    Sam’s Club will remain open, but with reduced hours, typically closing around 6 p.m. (Plus Members may have extended hours).

    Closed:

    Costco is the notable exception—it will be closed across all locations for the entire day.

    Pharmacies & Drugstores

    Chain pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens are expected to remain open, though pharmacy services may vary by location—some may operate on limited or holiday hours.

    People visit CVS Pharmacy store in San Francisco, California. CVS Pharmacy is a major American retail chain.

    Postal Services & Deliveries

    The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) will be closed, with no mail delivery, as it follows the federal holiday schedule.
    UPS and FedEx will halt regular pickup and delivery services. Some FedEx Office locations may be open with modified hours, and both companies offer critical services (e.g., UPS Express Critical or FedEx Custom Critical) that remain operational .Banking, Stock Markets &

    Government Offices

    Banks will be closed on Labor Day, with ATMs and online banking still functional. However, transactions made that day will typically process the next business day.
    Both the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq will be closed for trading on Labor Day, resuming normal operations on Tuesday, September 2.
    Federal, state, and local government offices, including courts, DMVs, and various administrative agencies, will be closed, with services resuming the following day.

    Detail of Chicago Board of Trade buidling in downtown down town for stock market and trading or investing

    Schools & Libraries

    Most public schools will be closed in observance of the holiday, with private school schedules varying by district—check local calendars for specifics.
    Libraries are expected to follow similar closure schedules—most will be closed or have limited hours.

    Travel & Public Transportation

    In cities like Houston, METRO buses, Metrorail, and Metrorapid will operate on reduced (Sunday-level) service, while park-and-ride services will be unavailable.
    Travel advisories, including from the TSA, warn of increased airport volumes and encourage early arrival—especially for those traveling by air.

    Quick Reference Table

    Retail Stores

    Walmart, Target, Home Depot, etc.

    Aldi, Sam’s Club

    Costco

    Grocery Chains

    Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Kroger, etc.

    Aldi, Sam’s Club

    Costco

    Pharmacies

    CVS, Walgreens (hours vary)

    —

    —

    Postal & Delivery

    Critical services (UPS/FedEx)

    FedEx Office (limited hours)

    USPS, regular FedEx/UPS

    Banks & Financial

    ATMs & online banking

    —

    Bank branches, stock markets

    Government Services

    —

    —

    All non-essential offices

    Schools & Libraries

    —

    —

    Most are closed

    Public Transit

    Greater regular services

    Sunday schedule (e.g., Houston METRO)

    Final Notes

    Costco will be closed all day.
    Most major retailers and grocers (Target, Walmart, Home Depot, etc.) are open as usual.
    Limited hours apply to chains like Aldi and Sam’s Club.
    USPS, banks, government offices, and stock markets remain closed.
    Critical delivery services operate, but standard ones do not.

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  • California Pizza Huts lay off all delivery drivers ahead of minimum wage increase

    California Pizza Huts lay off all delivery drivers ahead of minimum wage increase

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    A Pizza Hut restaurant and delivery car are pictured in Los Angeles in July 2, 2020.

    Pizza Hut is laying off more than 1,200 delivery drivers in California.

    The layoffs, which will take place through the end of February, come as California’s minimum wage is about to go up by $4. Fast-food workers in the state are set to get a pay bump of close to 30% in April as the minimum wages rises from $16 to $20 an hour.

    PacPizza, LLC, operating as Pizza Hut, said in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice that the company made a business decision to eliminate first-party delivery services and, as a result, the elimination of all delivery driver positions, according to Business Insider. The notice was filed with the state’s Employment Development Department.

    The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires employers to give notice of mass layoffs or plant closures.

    Southern California Pizza Co., a second Pizza Hut franchise, is also eliminating its in-house delivery services and laying off 841 drivers, according to a WARN Act notice from Dec 1.

    The layoffs impact drivers at Pizza Hut locations in Sacramento, Palm Springs, Los Angeles and other cities throughout the state.

    A customer walks in to a Pizza Hut restaurant during lunchtime in Los Angeles.A customer walks in to a Pizza Hut restaurant during lunchtime in Los Angeles.

    A customer walks in to a Pizza Hut restaurant during lunchtime in Los Angeles.

    How can California customers get Pizza Hut delivered?

    Customers must use third-party apps like DoorDash, GrubHub and Uber Eats for food deliveries at the affected chain restaurants.

    Pizza Hut, owned by the Taco Bell parent company Yum! Brands, told Business Insider that its “franchisees independently own and operate their restaurants in accordance with local market dynamics and comply with all federal, state, and local regulations while continuing to provide quality service and food to our customers via carryout and delivery.”

    Minimum wage bump for fast-food workers

    In California, nearly one million fast food and healthcare workers are set to get a major raise after a deal was announced earlier this year between labor unions and industries.

    Under the bill, most of California’s fast-food workers will be paid at least $20 per hour next year. And a separate bill will increase healthcare workers’ salaries to at least $25 per hour over the next 10 years.

    Chains such as Chipotle and McDonald’s said they planned to raise menu prices as a way to offset the costs of higher wages in California.

    The law affects 557,000 fast-food workers at 30,000 restaurants in California.

    How does minimum wage compare by state?

    Twenty-two states are set to increase minimum wages at the beginning of 2024. By Jan. 1, seven states and Washington, D.C., will have minimum wages of at least $15 an hour. Maryland, New Jersey and New York are all set to increase their wages at the beginning of the new year.

    Fifteen states have laws in place that make minimum wages equivalent to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, according to the Department of Labor. Five states have no minimum wage laws: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee.

    Prices increase: McDonald’s, Chipotle to raise prices in California as minimum wage increases for workers

    See map: These states will see a minimum-wage increase in 2024

    This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pizza Huts in California lay off delivery drivers before wage increase

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