'I Have What It Takes'

Ever wondered what it’s like to be a process assistant? Join Colin Thal, a process assistant from PAE2, an Amazon robotics fulfillment center in Arlington, Washington, as he takes you through a day in his life.

Interested in becoming a process assistant? Check out this video to learn how to use the STAR method to ace your next interview. Make sure you’ve updated the Your Career profile on A to Z.

Project Catapult 26-2, Amazon's military veteran leadership program, has combined with the Military Mentoring Program for a six-month pilot (June 29–December 31). The program is designed to accelerate the advancement of veterans from Tier 1 and Tier 3 hourly positions to Level 4 (L4) area manager roles within U.S. Operations. It formally recognizes military leadership experience as a valid qualification that’s equivalent to traditional credentials, including four-year degrees

Project Catapult has two distinct tracks, with 100 total spots, designed to serve different veteran profiles:

• Track 1–Individual Development (50 spots): Six-month self-paced curriculum, plus biweekly coffee chats for veterans who already meet L4 basic qualifications. Requirement: 2+ years at Amazon or a bachelor's degree.

• Track 2–Promotion Track (50 spots): Three-month training series ending in an L4 area manager assessment and interview. Requirements: Veterans with 6+ years military service, 90+ days Amazon tenure, and no bachelor's degree.

Both tracks require U.S. Ops Tier 1 or Tier 3 blue badge military veteran status and a confirmed L4+ mentor before applying.

Key dates:

• May 4–June 1: Applications are open

• June 8: Selections communicated

• June 29: Program launch

Apply today!

Questions? Contact Ryan Belak (belakrya@) or John Hunt (jkhunt@)

From October to December 2025, the Invented Here: Ideas that Scale program asked our NACF team members for ideas on how our Operations could be improved. We received thousands of submissions, and after multiple rounds of review, we identified the finalists from each line of business.

This week the spotlight is on Matthew Acoya from JWY3 in Fort Worth, Texas, who noticed that there was opportunity for clamp and RC training to better reflect the real challenges Amazonians face on the job. His idea? Attach a trailer to a designated door on training days, fill it with pallets similar to a real vendor load, and have team members practice removing and downstacking freight—just like they would on the floor. This hands-on training environment would give team members experience with lights, downstacking from height, load repositioning, and navigating trailer thresholds.

By making training more hands-on, this initiative would also improve Amazonian safety and better prepare our teams before they ever touch live freight.

These finalists will go on to a final review, during which the winner of the 2025 NACF Invented Here: Ideas that Scale program will be chosen by Jonatan Gal, vice president of North American Customer Fulfillment.

Congratulations to all of our finalists!

Keep an eye out for more finalist spotlights and for the announcement of the NACF Invented Here: Ideas that Scale winner.

Ever wonder what happens to clothes returned to Amazon that can't be resold or donated? At Amazon, we're turning them into something new.

Amazon Re:Turn is a new recycling program that transforms customer-returned textiles like T-shirts, leggings, and other clothing into high-quality Amazon gear. If a returned item can't be resold or donated—like clothes with a small tear, broken zipper, or missing button—and is processed at our SDF9 or LUK7 returns centers in Louisville, Kentucky, it gets recycled and made into swag for Amazonians like you. It's just one way we're helping find more ways to recycle and give materials a second use.

Here's the journey:

1. Amazonians process returns. A customer returns clothing to Amazon and it goes to one of our returns centers. Right now, returns processed at SDF9 and LUK7 are part of this program.

2. We try to resell or donate it first. That's always our priority.

3. If we can't, it goes to recycling partners. They break down the fabric, then wash and sanitize it.

4. They create new material. The recycled fabric becomes something new.

5. It comes back as Amazon swag. T-shirts, hoodies, bags, and more.

Watch the video to see the full journey from return to finished product.

Amazon’s Outage Root Cause, $581M Loss Potential And ‘Apology:’ 5 AWS Outage Takeaways

From the root cause of Amazon’s outage to its potential $581 million cost, CRN breaks down the five important results and findings from AWS’ new post-mortem report. ‘We will do everything we can to learn from this event and use it to improve our availability even further,’ AWS says.

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Every day, the materials you handle give you the chance to shape Amazon's environmental impact. Your sorting decisions can help more material get recycled instead of going to landfill. 

Earth Month may be ending, but here are a few ways you can keep making an impact all through the year:

• Make sure you’re using the right bin before throwing anything away (cardboard, mixed recyclables, organics, general waste, etc.). A contaminated bin can cause an entire batch to be non-recyclable.

• Know who your Sustainability Ambassador or site sustainability contact is. They're your go-to resource for questions and improvement ideas.

• You're the process expert and know your workflow best. If bin placement is missing or not working for how you actually do your job, escalate it to your manager or a designated site sustainability teammate. 

You’re helping make a difference, one bin at a time. 

Have you played the Earth Month games? Click here to see how your scores stack up!

Welcome to News in :90 for May 6, your quick video news update right here on A to Z, including:

• Prime Day is back this summer.

• Amazon Pet Days: Five days of deals for dogs, cats, and more.

• Activate your Employee Discount code.

• How you made a difference for our customers in Q1. Watch CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores Doug Herrington's full video message.

• How Amazon Re:Turn is transforming returned clothes into something new.

In case you missed it: