The online retailer and logistician Amazon has built up significantly jobs in Germany. At the turn of the year, there were more than 40,000 fixed jobs in this country and thus a good 4,000 more than a year earlier, the company said in Dortmund.
This doubled the number of permanent Amazon employees compared to the end of 2019-before the start of Corona and the associated online boom. In the coming years, too, people want to invest heavily and create further jobs in Germany, it continued.
The US trade group has more than 100 locations in Germany, including 23 logistics, 9 sorting and 60 distribution centers. In addition, there are research and development locations- in Aachen, for example, language services and Dresden about cloud services- as well as administrations. The Germany headquarters is in Munich, another main location is in Berlin.
High investment
Amazon invests strongly in Germany. A low three-digit million-euro amount is to be plugged into the renovation of the already existing logistics center in Werne (NRW) this year. The number of employees is said to increase by up to 800, currently around 1,400. The company also wants to open further logistics centers, in Könern (Saxony-Anhalt) and Rohr (Bavaria). More than 1,000 jobs are to be created there within the first year of operation.
“We have been firmly rooted in Germany for over 25 years, continue to grow here and also clearly confess to Germany with our newly built company headquarters in Berlin and Munich,” said Amazon Germany boss Rocco Bräuniger.
Applications with artificial intelligence and other innovations should improve Amazon’s processes in the future so that the ordered goods arrive at the customer as quickly as possible. This is how the company works on robots that can feel and store products. This is intended to make work easier because they have to stretch and bend less. Amazon also wants to reduce the weight of the packaging.
In order to improve the CO2 balance of his business, the shipping giant also rely more on Stromer. For example, he recently ordered 200 electric trucks for Europe, of which more than 50 are said to be in Germany.
Criticism by Verdi
Amazon is not only an online retailer, but also a package supplier-the company goes out part of its shipments itself, the other part hands over to delivery to parcel service providers such as DHL. Amazon is now the company with the second largest shipment volume in Germany, before Hermes and DPD. The package bot: Inside, Amazon is not firmly employed, rather the US group works with subcontractors. This is due to the Verdi union.
Verdi also expresses criticism with regard to dealing with permanent employees. At Amazon there are still no legally binding collective agreements, the union complains.
Due to the pressure of the employees, the fees are increased and working conditions are improved in many areas, said trade unionist Silke Zimmer. However, she warned that the refusal of a collective agreement means that the increases could also be withdrawn. The trade unionist also reports an enormous pressure to perform on Amazon, an exhaustive work densification and monitoring at the workplace.
Verdi has been calling for warning strikes at Amazon for years, but according to the company, but have no effect on customers: internal orders. Amazon emphasizes to pay fair wages, offer good additional services and generally rely on respectful coexistence.