Amazon has actually chosen to shut down all of its satisfaction centers in France after a French court ruled the business could be fined EUR1 million per product for shipping anything not directly related to medical products, hygiene products, and food items.
This is in spite of the substantial investment we made in additional security measures to keep our hard-working, dedicated associates safe, while guaranteeing they had actually continued employment at this challenging time,” an Amazon spokesperson informs The Edge in statement.
Amazon has actually come under fire both in the US and overseas for its handling of health and wellness concerns throughout the COVID-19 pandemic The health crisis has actually only made the e-commerce giant’s services more crucial as individuals shelter at home and rely more on online purchasing and shipment of household goods, food, and other products. More than 50 Amazon-owned centers have verified COVID-19 cases, according to the Financial Times, and the company is now constructing its own screening lab to attempt to keep its operations running amid panic surrounding the virus’s fast spread through its storage facilities.
Throughout the crisis, Amazon has actually been criticized by employees, activists, and politicians for not correctly communicating to warehouse workers when a co-worker has been diagnosed with the health problem and for not taking adequate preventive steps to prevent the health problem from spreading out by closing down centers and deep cleaning them. Sometimes, Amazon employees say they just become aware of a COVID-19 medical diagnosis from colleagues, and in Kentucky, the governor ordered Amazon to keep its returns facility closed after various confirmed cases among the labor force.
According to Amazon, the Kentucky warehouse reopened on April 1st. The company provided this declaration to The Edge regarding its procedures to ensure staff member health and wellness:
Absolutely nothing is more crucial than the health and safety of our groups.
In one particularly prominent controversy, Amazon also fired a storage facility worker in New York City who arranged a demonstration against the company’s handling of health and safety problems related to COVID-19 It was later on found Amazon executives internally discussed how to smear the organizer in the media.
In France, the Union Syndicale Solidaires trade union submitted problems pressing for more oversight of Amazon’s handling of health problems throughout the pandemic and calling for the closure of centers due to overcrowding. Amazon employs about 10,000 people in storage facilities in France, according to Reuters
” In the mean-time, we are overcoming what this court’s choice means for them and our French operation,” the statement checks out. “While we will do our finest to lessen the effect on French small businesses, those who depend on our FC network to provide their items will be negatively impacted by this judgment.”
Amazon states it will continue to serve French clients utilizing its Marketplace sellers and “robust global fulfillment network.” It’s not clear if that suggests French consumers will have to buy from Marketplace sellers outside the country and have actually those products delivered in without routing through a warehouse, or if French Market sellers will be able to ship the products straight or through an Amazon partner.
Update April 15 th, 5: 05 PM ET: Included extra remark from Amazon concerning its steps to secure employees throughout COVID-19
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