- Amazon has confirmed three cases of COVID-19 in two of its Spanish warehouses, according to sources and Spanish media.
- The company has ruled out shutting down the warehouses, a worker confirmed to Business Insider.
- Amazon said in a statement that it is “following the guidelines of local and international health authorities.”
- The coronavirus outbreak has highlighted the differences in the way highly paid office workers at tech companies are treated, versus the more precarious hourly or seasonal staff.
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Amazon has ruled out shutting down two warehouses in Spain despite three workers testing positive for COVID-19.
We first saw the news via Spanish news website La Información. A warehouse worker in Spain confirmed the news to Business Insider.
The San Fernando warehouse based outside Madrid houses over 3,000 employees. The worker said that warehouse has two instances of the virus. The second warehouse is based just outside Barcelona, and reported one case. The source said management had ruled out shutting down either facility.
The decision to keep the warehouses open incensed local workers’ union the CCOO, which said it would be taking legal action against Amazon.”They’re putting financial gain before workers’ health,” a union spokesperson told La Información.
According to the report, Amazon is even hiring dozens of new temporary workers in its Spanish warehouses.
Amazon told La Información that it is providing support to workers already in quarantine. “The health and safety of our employees is our main concern; we are following the guidelines of local and international health authorities and have implemented a series of preventive health measures in our centers around the world,” a spokesperson said.
Amazon was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Business Insider.
The coronavirus outbreak has highlighted the differences between highly paid full-time tech employees at the major US firms, and the hourly or temporary contractors who work in cafeterias, retail stores and, in Amazon’s case, warehouses. While most office workers have been instructed to work from home, these more precarious workers are dependent on an hourly rate, cannot work from home, and do not tend to qualify for the same benefits.
Most of the major US tech firms have promised financial support to hourly employees who cannot come into work during office shutdowns or who fall sick.
Amazon has promised its logistics workers would receive two weeks of paid sick leave if quarantined, and unlimited, unpaid time off through March. Amazon also established a $25 million “relief fund” for drivers and seasonal workers, which includes its warehouse workers.
The novel coronavirus outbreak has led to a spike in orders from Amazon. The company announced on Saturday that its Prime delivery service was experiencing delays, and it was running out of stock for staple household items.
