|
Amazon said in a statement it now employed
32,000 permanent staff in the European Union, with the new jobs
created in logistics centers, customer service, software
development, supply chain management and design.
"We are still in a phase of investment and look forward to being
able to fill more positions in 2015," said Xavier Garambois,
Amazon vice president for EU retail, adding that customer demand
in Europe was bigger than ever.
Amazon said around 1,200 of the new jobs were in Germany, its
second-biggest market after the United States where it employs
10,000 warehouse staff plus more than 10,000 seasonal workers.
Britain had the next most new positions with the rest spread
around other countries.
Amazon has been hit in Germany by a series of strikes over pay
and working conditions.
Trade union Verdi has organized frequent strikes since May 2013
to try to force the retailer to raise pay for warehouse workers
in accordance with collective bargaining agreements across
Germany's mail order and retail industry.
Amazon has repeatedly rejected the union's demands, saying it
regards warehouse staff as logistics workers and that they
receive above-average pay by the standards of that industry.
(Reporting by Emma Thomasson and Matthias Inverardi; Editing by
Mark Potter)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
