Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) is battling fresh labor unrest as thousands of warehouse workers in Germany walked off the job on Black Friday, escalating global pressure on the company.
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Workers at Amazon warehouses across Germany launched Black Friday strikes to disrupt operations and pressure the company into a collective bargaining agreement.
Germany's Verdi union said about 3,000 employees planned to walk out at sites in Bad Hersfeld, Dortmund, Frankenthal, Graben, Koblenz, Moenchengladbach, Rheinberg, Werne and Winsen.
Also Read: Germany Union Urge Amazon’s Warehouse Employees To Stage Protest Against Pay
Amazon insisted the strikes would not affect customer orders and said it pays fair wages, noting it employs roughly 40,000 logistics workers plus 12,000 seasonal staff during the holiday rush, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, unions also organized protests outside Zara stores across Europe, pushing the retailer to restore a profit-sharing program.
Amazon and Unions
The latest action adds to a growing wave of labor disputes and regulatory penalties as unions push to expand organizing across Amazon's logistics network.
Amazon grappled with multiple unionization initiatives in its U.S. and overseas warehouses over its safety conditions and pay.
In June 2025, Amazon faced a new National Labor Relations Board complaint accusing the company of union-busting at its DCK6 warehouse in San Francisco.
The NLRB Region 20 filing seeks to reinstate fired workers, and award union supporters raises, bonuses and promotions they say they were denied — escalating pressure after an earlier complaint ordering Amazon to bargain with Teamsters at the site.
The case ties back to a December holiday strike involving more than 100 San Francisco workers.
In December 2024, Amazon faced a major union challenge as Teamsters-represented workers at seven U.S. facilities launched a strike to force the company into contract negotiations.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters called this the largest strike yet against the e-commerce giant, with participants walking out in New York, Atlanta, San Francisco, and other cities.
Amazon insisted the strike would not disrupt peak holiday operations.
Teamsters said they are striking over low pay, safety concerns and Amazon's refusal to bargain — escalating the growing national showdown over labor rights inside the company's logistics network.
The $2.5 trillion e-commerce giant’s stock gained over 4% year-to-date.
On Oct. 30, Amazon delivered better-than-expected third-quarter results, posting net sales of $180.2 billion, up 13% year over year, and topping estimates of $177.8 billion. Earnings per share jumped to $1.95, beating forecasts of $1.57.
CEO Andy Jassy said artificial intelligence is driving broad-based business momentum, noting new Amazon Web Services deals and accelerating cloud demand.
Looking ahead, Amazon guides fourth-quarter net sales to $206 billion–$213 billion, up 10%–13% as the company continues to scale capacity for AI and cloud infrastructure.
AMZN Price Action: Amazon shares traded higher by 5.77% at $232.05 at publication on Friday.
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Photo: Courtesy Amazon
