Amazon Prime Air loses two key operations leaders, as drone delivery struggles continue
Summary
Amazon has lost two executives key to the companys drone delivery operations, the latest setback for an aspirational program thats required hefty investment but has experienced scant success. Robert Dreer, who reported to Mullin and was responsible for all of Prime Airs test operations, departed last week for a role at electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft startup Opener, he wrote in a LinkedIn post. Mullin, a former Marine One pilot during the Obama administration, oversaw Prime Air safety and regulatory compliance, as well as site leads at the units facilities in Oregon, California and Texas. Even at its two launch sites — Lockeford, California, and College Station, Texas — deliveries remain way short of division head David Carbons target of 10,000 this year. More recently, on June 21 of this year, during tests at the Pendleton site, a drone made an emergency landing in a field and was destroyed, according to a federal crash report viewed by CNBC.