Amazon Fined 32 Million Euros in France for ‘Overly Intrusive’ Employee Monitoring

By our economics editors

Jan 23, 2024 at 11:03 am

Amazon has been fined 32 million euros in France. According to a regulator, the company is monitoring several thousand employees in French distribution centers “overly intrusively”. The company has not informed its staff about this either.

Their performance is also monitored via the scanners that employees use to process packages, reports the French regulator CNIL. For example, these devices recorded the moments when employees did not use the scanner for ten minutes or more. According to the regulator, this is illegal.

Another system measured how quickly employees scanned packages. The required speed is also exaggerated, according to the CNIL.

The French supervisor further states that employees were under constant pressure and regularly had to justify why they were away from their place for a while. In addition, it was monitored when an employee entered the warehouse and when that person actually started the shift.

Amazon calls the regulator’s findings “factually incorrect.” According to a spokesperson, the monitoring systems are necessary “to guarantee safety, quality and efficiency”. The group has “the right to appeal,” the spokesperson added.

In November, Amazon employees in several European countries stopped work. They then struck for better working conditions and higher wages.

Beeld: Getty Images

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2024-01-23 10:03:16
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