Amazon France Extends Shutdown Pending Appeal
The online retailer will keep its six French warehouses closed through Wednesday while awaiting the outcome Tuesday of its appeal of a court order to limit its business or face heavy fines.
April 20, 2020 at 12:51 PM
2 minute read
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Amazon France will keep its six French warehouses closed through Wednesday while awaiting the outcome Tuesday of its appeal of a court order to limit its business or face heavy fines, the company has announced.
A court in Nanterre, near Paris, ruled April 14 that Amazon France needed to pull back on its operations and deliver only essential goods like food and health care materials while the company evaluates workers' risks of coronavirus exposure.
The court also ordered Amazon to pay a penalty of €1 million per offense per day, starting April 15, prompting Amazon to close the facilities as of April 16 and send its 10,000 workers home on 100% pay.
The company had intended to reopen the warehouses Monday but decided to keep them closed an additional two days pending the appeal.
"We remain perplexed at the decision of the court in Nanterre that was handed down last week, and we await with interest to see that our appeal is heard," Amazon said Monday in a statement.
The original lawsuit, brought by the French union group Solidaires, claimed that increased demand for nonessential consumer items during the coronavirus lockdown had led to unsafe conditions at Amazon warehouses, including crowding and lax enforcement of hygiene guidelines.
Amazon has countered that it had installed additional measures, such as temperature checks and hand gel dispensers, to protect warehouse workers.
While the court ruled last week that Amazon's delivery of nonessential items was within the bounds of entrepreneurial freedom guaranteed by French law, it agreed with the union that Amazon should be doing more to protect worker safety.
The court also found that Amazon did not respect French labor rules requiring companies to include worker representatives in discussions of health and safety measures before they are imposed.
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