Staff at the main Amazon Italy fulfilment centre have announced that they will be taking industrial action starting on Black Friday and potentially until the end of the year, in a dispute about bonuses.
Italian trade unions have said said that more than 500 Amazon workers at the Piacenza fulfilment centre in northern Italy had agreed to strike having failed to agree bonuses with Amazon.
They will strike completely on Black Friday, typically one of the biggest shopping days of the year. And the unions have said that workers have also voted to shun overtime until December 31st. Needless to say this will be disruptive to Amazon throughout its busiest period of the year.
According to reports, Amazon employs circa 1600 permanent staff at the Piacenza site. It was the first facility it built in the country after launching its Italian website in 2010 and remains the biggest hub in Italy.
Amazon has stressed that it will be concentrating on ensuring despatch and deliveries are unaffected. They also say that their full time staff have a good employment package and competitive pay.
It’s hard to know what impact this action will have on Amazon Italy and meeting customer expectation. It seems likely that an Amazon fulfilment centre relies heavily on overtime from staff during peak. It is well worth monitoring the situation if you keep stock in FBA in Italy, in particular.
