No end in sight yet for Amazon shutdown in France

Amazon has no clarity yet on when its warehouses in France might reopen, the head of its French business said, after the e-commerce giant clashed with unions over the measures taken to limit the risks of coronavirus contagion.

Amazon closed six French warehouses used to stock and package goods for shipment on Thursday until at least April 20, in one of the biggest fallouts yet from a growing stand-off with its workers over safety measures during the pandemic.

The world’s largest online retailer is facing mounting scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic as it juggles a surge in online orders during unprecedented lockdowns during the pandemic and employees’ safety.

France is the only country where it has shut down all of its so-called

HIGHLIGHTS

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Follows clash with unions over protection.

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French court ordered to limit deliveries.

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Amazon France chief appeals decision.

fulfillment centers after unions complained that they were still too crowded and filed a legal challenge. A court sided with the workers on Tuesday, ordering Amazon to focus only on delivering essential items such as food while it revised health protocols.

Amazon’s French Chief Executive Frederic Duval rejected the court’s order on Thursday, saying the company had spent “colossal amounts” on health precautions including sanitary gels and face masks. The firm will appeal, he said. Duval added that rather than limiting its activities, Amazon had temporarily suspended trade through the warehouses because the court order, which included a $1.1 million) per day penalty for non-compliance, was too vague. The court did not order the closure of the warehouses but requested they limit deliveries to groceries, medical supplies and hygiene products.

“There is a huge ambiguity,” Duval told RTL radio. “Is a nail clipper a hygiene product? Is a condom a medical item? I’m not able to define that.”