Adris Ali was 22 years old and had been a “picker” at Amazon’s logistics center in Rugeley, Staffordshire, for just 3 months when, on November 4, 2017, he took a notebook from a shelf, set it alight with a lighter and walked away.
According to prosecutors, he wanted time off because of problems with his partner and felt “disrespected and frustrated” by his team leader when the leader rejected his request. It was never confirmed that the leader had acted improperly or had actually disrespected him. Ali reacted by setting fire to a pile of papers with a lighter before leaving the scene.
The fire destroyed 613.549 units, forced the evacuation of more than 1.200 workers and cost close to $10 million. Nobody was injured. On September 11, 2018, the judge sentenced him to 4 years in prison.
