A small Central Valley community at the forefront of Amazon’s drone delivery program will not be part of it moving forward.
Amazon announced that it is ending the program in Lockeford, which was one of only two places in the nation to receive the program when it launched in 2022.
The backstory: Two years ago Lockeford and College Station, Texas, were the first two cities in the nation for the drone delivery service.
- Lockeford residents were able to have products they ordered that weighed up to five pounds delivered to their location by drone within a half an hour.
The big picture: Amazon announced this week that the program will continue to serve College Station, but the company will move forward with other delivery services in Lockeford, ending the days where people could see drones delivering packages in the small Central Valley community.
- With Lockeford on the way out, Amazon will launch its drone delivery service in Tolleson, Arizona, later this year to serve residents in the Phoenix West Valley metro area.
- Amazon did not say in its announcement why Lockeford will no longer have the drone delivery service, but the community only has a population of around 4,000, while College Station has around 125,000 and Phoenix has over 1.6 million.
What they’re saying: “As we look to the future and prioritize our resources to continue growing the program, we’ve also made the decision to close our delivery site in Lockeford,” Amazon said in a statement.
- “We’ll offer all current employees opportunities at other sites, and will continue to serve customers in Lockeford with other delivery methods. We want to thank the community for all their support and feedback over the past few years. We’ll continue delivering in College Station, Texas, and will open further U.S. locations in 2025.”
