Skip to main content

Amazon workers at an Italy distribution hub are planning to strike on Black Friday

Amazon workers at an Italy distribution hub are planning to strike on Black Friday

/

On one of the busiest shopping days of the year

Share this story

Amazon box (STOCK)

Over 500 Amazon workers at the company’s main distribution hub in Italy are planning to go on strike on Black Friday, reports Reuters. Italian trade unions said the workers from Amazon’s Piacenza hub in northern Italy had agreed to strike for the first time after they failed to negotiate bonuses with Amazon. The workers also want pay raises to compensate for mandatory night shifts, overtime, or working six days in a row to keep up with logistical demands.

Additionally, starting from Black Friday, the striking workers will refuse overtime during the holiday season — typically the busiest season for the company — until December 31st.

The Piacenza hub has 1,600 permanent employees, and it was the first one built in Italy after Amazon launched a local site there in 2010. In a statement sent to Reuters, Amazon said it remains focused on trying to get deliveries to customers on time on Black Friday and in the days after. It also noted that its workers’ salaries are among the highest in the logistics sector with some benefits like private health insurance and subsidies for training programs included.

Many European countries, including Italy, have adopted the Black Friday shopping tradition, set a day after Thanksgiving.