Despite announcing 10,000 layoffs worldwide, Amazon maintains its hiring forecasts for this year and the mid-term in Spain. A tense calm settles over the staff at the Spanish headquarters as management remains tight-lipped about whether the global restructuring will touch Spanish operations. According to several union sources, the Prat/Llobregat region and the San Fernando de Henares sites are among those watched. The company has told the press that the hiring schedule will continue through 2025, with a plan to add around 5,000 employees across Spain in the coming years. (Source: EL PERIÓDICO)
For Black Friday, the flow of truck and delivery traffic to and from Amazon warehouses across Spain remained strong, though not as intense as the surge seen during the pandemic. In total, the company operates about 20,000 employees across more than 30 logistics centers countrywide. The Madrid and Catalonia regions house the largest concentration of facilities, each hosting around ten sites. (Source: EL PERIÓDICO)
In Catalonia, the expansion strategy relied on opening new centers, particularly medium-sized warehouses, positioned close to the French border and the coastline to facilitate distribution. However, the slowdown in online shopping adoption after the pandemic, coupled with higher central-bank rates and a tighter financing environment, tempered growth plans. One notable example is the 85,000-square-foot macro center in the Empordà region that was initially scheduled to open but faced delays. (Source: EL PERIÓDICO)
Cuts are concentrated among white-collar roles
Even as growth in Spain is projected to be slower than earlier expectations, management maintains an optimistic view for 2025, targeting a workforce of 25,000 employees in the country, about 5,000 more than today. Yet the near-term concern for warehouse staff centers on whether the announced 10,000 job reductions will trigger broader repercussions. European management and Spanish and Irish unions were set to discuss the matter in a scheduled meeting in Dublin, where the subject was expected to take center stage and provide clarity for workers. (Source: EL PERIÓDICO)
Earlier information on the 10,000-job restructuring originated in the United States, with a focus on divisions tied to home automation and smart devices. Alexa, the voice assistant, represents a disruptive technology intended to be embedded in many homes, but the product line has faced slower adoption than originally anticipated by designers and marketers. Reports from Business Insider suggested the Alexa division could incur substantial losses by year end. In practical terms, job reductions are likely to affect primarily white-collar roles, while blue-collar workers may be less impacted, according to union sources. (Source: EL PERIÓDICO)
The layoffs in the United States and the slower pace of expansion in Spain will also affect workers connected to Amazon’s broader ecosystem, including independent contractors and delivery partners who are not directly hired by the company. This dynamic has spurred the emergence of numerous satellite businesses and self-employed couriers responsible for last‑mile delivery from warehouses. Some labor applications and enforcement actions are still awaiting resolution, while Amazon has faced penalties related to labor practices in Catalonia in recent years. (Source: EL PERIÓDICO)