Amazon is not at its first controversy over the working conditions of employees in its warehouses. France has just imposed a huge fine of 32 million euros on him again because of “its system for monitoring employee activity and performance is excessively intrusive”.
It is the National Commission for Information Technology and Liberties (Cnil) which is at the origin of this sanction made public on January 23, 2024. In question, the pace and performance of workers at Amazon France Logistique (AFL) tracked via scanners used for parcels. Inactivity for more than 10 minutes and the pace of processing shipments would effectively allow Amazon to exert pressure “to the nearest second”explains the French authority.
These 32 million euros fine represents 3% of the turnover of the French subsidiary of Amazon (the maximum possible was 4%). The CNIL bases its decision on the famous General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) put in place by the European Union.
Amazon reserves the right to appeal
In a press release, Amazon defends itself, believing that the CNIL’s conclusions are “factually incorrect”, and is considering filing an appeal. According to the e-commerce giant, this monitoring would be necessary to “ensure safety, quality and efficiency of operations, and to ensure inventory tracking and package processing on time and in accordance with customer expectations”. The company also explains that this system would be “a common industry practice”.
This is not the first time that Amazon has been heavily sanctioned within the EU. In Italy, the firm was fined 1.13 billion euros for abuse of a dominant position.