Amazon has re-opened its French warehouses after COVID-19 dispute settled

Amazon closed its warehouses to avoid accidentally breaching a ruling that restricted what items it could ship.

What you need to know

• Amazon will repoen its French warehouses this week after negotiations with workers.
• The company closed them in April after a ruling restricted them to shipping essential items.
• Workers have secured benefits such as increased pay, staggered work times, and a gradual reopening.

After being ordered to ship only essential items in France a few weeks ago, Amazon closed all six of its warehouses to prevent accidentally falling afoul of the ruling. Now the company is reopening them after coming to an agreement with worker representatives in the intervening period.

To recap, Amazon was ordered to limit shipping to essential products while it put in place measures to protect employee safety. It was to do so in concert with worker representatives, as the company’s warehouses had been critiqued as being “health bombs.”

Now, Amazon and worker representatives have reached a compromise. The representatives have secured guarantees such as a voluntary and gradual re-opening, a small pay rise till the end of May, and schedules that will prevent mixing of employees and allow for greater physical distancing.

Commenting on the compromise. an Amazon spokesperson said (via CNN Business):

This follows five weeks of discussions in which we have repeatedly provided clarification and information about the extensive safety measures already implemented at our fulfillment centers to keep our employees safe.

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