Amazon’s peak season operations in Italy have again been hit by industrial action while the company is extending late delivery deadlines in the UK, France and Spain.
Workers at Amazon's distribution centre near Piacenza in northern Italy went on strike for about two hours per shift on Wednesday to demand better pay and conditions, Italian and international media reported.
This was the second time they have walked off the job in less than a month. In November, about 500 workers staged a one-day stoppage during the Black Friday sales event.
According to a Reuters report, the workers at the Castel San Giovanni plant, near Piacenza, decided yesterday to work to rule during the Christmas period and not to work any overtime.
Fiorenzo Molinari, a leader of the FILCAMS CGIL union, told the news agency: "For now the protest will continue until Dec. 31 with a ban on overtime … then we'll have to discuss with workers how to proceed."
According to an AFP report, Amazon said it was committed to dialogue with all employees and denied there had been any impact on deliveries.
Meanwhile, the e-commerce giant has extended delivery deadlines in several European countries in the final days before Christmas.
In the UK, several major retailers including Amazon, Argos, John Lewis and ASOS have put back their last delivery dates until the afternoon or even the evening of Christmas Eve (Sunday December 24) to ensure that orders arrive in time for Christmas Day, British newspapers reported. Retailers are expecting heavy online and offline shopping tomorrow (Saturday December 23).
In France, Amazon announced yesterday that it was extending various delivery deadlines, including same-day deliveries in selected areas of Christmas Eve purchases made by midday. The very last delivery option would be Prime Now one-hour deliveries by midnight on December 24 for eligible orders made by 21:15 that day.
In Spain, Amazon announced on Monday that Prime customers in Madrid and Barcelona could get one-day delivery through to 10pm on December 24.
In Germany, Amazon today released an overview of its logistics expansion this year, including the opening of two new logistics centers in Dortmund and Winsen (Luhe) and a replacement building in Werne. Overall the company said it created 700 new permanent jobs in the country this year. It has also taken on 13,000 temporary workers to cope with peak season demand.
Bernd Gschaider, Regional Director of Amazon Operations Germany, said: "I am very proud that we have further expanded our German logistics network in order to meet rising customer demand. At the same time, we have broadened our selection and given small companies selling on Amazon Marketplace the opportunity to expand their business.”
He emphasised that Amazon offers its workers “competitive wages and comprehensive benefits", with hourly wages of at least €10.52 which are at the upper end of pay levels for comparable jobs.
