• The Chicago Tribune this morning reports that "dozens of Amazon warehouse employees planned to walk out Wednesday at two Chicago-area delivery stations to demand higher pay and better working conditions, a move that could disrupt operations just days before Christmas.
"The work stoppages were scheduled to begin at 4:30 a.m. in west suburban Cicero and 8 a.m. at the Gage Park facility on Chicago’s West Side, according to Amazonians United Chicagoland, an organization representing local Amazon warehouse workers.
"'We are walking out to demand raises, safe staffing, and other necessary improvements to our working conditions,' the nonaffiliated labor organization said in an emailed statement. 'Amazon has broken multiple promises for pay and bonuses, while inconsistently giving raises at different delivery stations where we do the same work.'
"The organization said a majority of workers scheduled for shifts Wednesday were expected to take part in the walkout."
• DoorDash yesterday announced that it has entered into a partnership with Southeastern Grocers Inc. (SEG), parent company of Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie stores, "to offer on-demand grocery delivery from more than 400 stores throughout Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Customers can now order groceries on-demand from their local SEG store, delivered in as little as 45 minutes, through DoorDash’s marketplace app and website.
"SEG will offer tens of thousands of grocery items for delivery via DoorDash, from core grocery items including fresh produce, dairy, bread, fresh meat and seafood, as well as SEG’s selection of Own Brands products including SE Grocers, SE Grocers Prestige, SE Grocers Naturally Better, and SE Grocers Essentials."
• From Bloomberg:
" Zepto, an instant grocery delivery startup founded by two teenagers, has raised $100 million in a funding round led by Y Combinator, taking its valuation to $570 million within five months of starting services in India’s red-hot quick commerce segment.
"The startup’s newest funding comes 45 days after a previous capital raise of $60 million at $225 million valuation … Zepto, named after a minuscule unit of time, was started by Aadit Palicha and his childhood friend Kaivalya Vohra, both 19, who quit the coveted computer science program at Stanford University to return to India and get started in quick commerce. The startup, which promises to deliver grocery and daily essentials in 10 minutes, started in Mumbai earlier this year and has since expanded to Bangalore, Delhi and four other cities."
The story notes that "online grocery delivery is taking off in India, a $1 trillion retail market where grocery purchases account for the bulk of the retail spending. Zepto is competing against startups like SoftBank Group Corp.-backed Blinkit, Google-backed Dunzo and Naspers Ltd.-backed Swiggy, as well as the likes of Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc.-backed Flipkart.
"Zepto is growing quickly and its core unit economics are strong, Palicha said in the statement. Delivering within 10 minutes is 'game changing,' said co-founder Vohra, the chief technology officer. The new capital will allow the Mumbai-based startup to grow its team and expand to more cities."
• The Washington Post reports on a "rare thing that Americans of all ages and across the political spectrum largely seem to agree on: They don’t trust social media services with their information and they view targeted ads as annoying and invasive, according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll. Many Americans use social media — and most use Facebook — but 64 percent say the government should do more to rein in big tech companies."
