Amazon Worker Dies at Troutdale Warehouse in Oregon as Co-Workers Say Operations Continued
Work at the loading dock on the second level of the Amazon warehouse in Troutdale, Portland, was brought to an abrupt halt when a colleague collapsed and lay lifeless on the floor.
His death on Monday, April 6, was reported by The Western Edge, an independent investigative journalism publication focused on the Pacific Northwest.
Records indicate that the deceased was 46 years old. His name has not been disclosed, nor has the cause of death.
Amazon Says His Death Was Not Work-Related
However, Amazon announced that his death was not work-related, a statement confirmed by the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
The Western Edge reports that the man worked at PDX9, the name of the Amazon warehouse, as a tote runner. Tote runners gather stacks of tall yellow plastic bins, load them onto a cart, and then haul them up and down warehouse corridors to workers who fill them with merchandise that is loaded onto trucks.
Workers Claim They Were Told to Continue With Their Jobs While Waiting for the Arrival of an Ambulance
Co-workers complained to The Western Edge that while waiting for the ambulance to arrive, they were instructed to continue working. According to their complaints, supervisors appeared more concerned about keeping operations moving than about the death of a colleague.
The workers stated that they were instructed to continue working and were only permitted to go home after their 3:45 p.m. break. Another worker claimed that Amazon failed to pay them for the full shift on the day their colleague collapsed and died.
Workplace Injuries are Not Uncommon at the Troutdale Facility
The Western Edge reported that workplace injuries are not uncommon at Amazon’s Troutdale warehouse. In 2019, after examining data from OSHA, it was found that the facility had the worst injury rate out of 23 major distribution centers.
- 2019 : Reveal found PDX9 had the highest injury rate in a 23 warehouse review.
- June 15, 2022 : Oregon’s heat illness rule took effect.
- Apr. 6, 2026 : Worker collapses and dies at PDX9.
- Apr. 13, 2026 : Western Edge report details co worker complaints.
The previous year, more than 25% of all workers at the Amazon warehouse in Troutdale suffered some form of injury while at work.
Public records reveal that at least two complaints about the heat inside the Amazon Troutdale warehouse have been lodged with OSHA over the past five years.
A worker told The Western Edge that an increase in heat levels was the result of ‘sound curtains’ installed by the company to dampen machinery noise. The worker said the curtains prevented airflow and that management had undertaken to install more fans by the end of May.
Amazon responded to questions from The Western Edge in a written statement. The company confirmed that it had provided the deceased’s family with resources to support them and that grief counselors had also been provided for employees at its PDX9 facility.