Amazon French warehouses unit fined 32 million euros

France’s data protection agency said Tuesday
it had fined Amazon’s French warehouse management unit 32 million euros
($34.9 million) for an “excessively intrusive” surveillance system to monitor
staff performance.

Amazon France Logistique monitored the performance of employees through data
from scanners used by the staff to process packages, according to the agency,
known by its initials CNIL.

Scanners recorded moments of inactivity exceeding 10 minutes or the handling
of packages and parcels “right up to the second”, the CNIL said in a
statement.

The other surveillance methods deemed unacceptable by CNIL were the “stow
machine gun” which noted if an article was scanned “too fast” or in less than
1.25 seconds.

It said workers were under constant pressure and had to regularly justify
absences. Even the time between the employees’ entry into the warehouse and
the start of work was monitored.

It said they were not adequately informed about the surveillance and the data
was kept for 31 days.

The fine was equivalent to about three percent of the turnover of Amazon
France Logistique.

An Amazon spokesman said the company rejected the findings as “factually
incorrect and we reserve the right to appeal”, adding that such systems were
needed “to guarantee security, quality and efficiency”.

Several thousand employees were affected by this system, CNIL said. The
regulator opened a probe in 2019 following media articles and complaints by
workers. (BSS/AFP)