Grit Delivers, Amazon delivery service partner in Iowa City, preparing to close

IOWA CITY — Grit Delivers, an Amazon delivery service partner located in Iowa City, is preparing to close, according to a notice from Iowa Workforce Development.

The Workforce Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice filed Jan. 4 reports 62 employees will be impacted when the company closes. Layoffs are expected to occur Feb. 5, according to the notice.

Grit Delivers opened in Iowa City in April 2020, according to posts on the company’s Facebook page. The company’s address is listed as 2500 Heinz Rd., which is the location of Amazon’s delivery station on the city’s southeast side.

Amazon’s delivery service partner program grants small-package delivery businesses access to Amazon's delivery technology, training and special deals on Amazon-branded vehicles and comprehensive insurance.

Kira Sears-Elliot, who is the owner/operator of Grit Delivers, said on her LinkedIn profile her team operates 35 to 70 trucks daily in the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids area. Sears-Elliot said 6000 to 13,000 packages are delivered per day.

Sears-Elliot could not immediately be reached by email for comment. A call to the phone number listed on Grit Delivers’ Facebook page did not go through because the voicemail box was not set up.

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