Amazon has 17 warehouses at 16 locations in Germany and around 20,000 logistics employees. They ship up to several million orders a day (e.g. on Prime Day). Amazon plans to open eight more logistics centers in Germany by mid-2022. The e-commerce giant has introduced a starting wage of €12 per hour for all employees. There are also other extras such as paid overtime, bonuses, free life and disability insurance and pension contributions. An increase to €12.50 an hour is planned from fall 2022.
Eight new logistics centers are planned by mid-2022. These locations are in Dummerstorf, Erding, Friedrichsdorf, Helmstedt, Hof/Gattendorf, Neu-Ulm, Weiterstadt and Wenden.
Amazon logistics center – all locations in England
Amazon logistics center – all locations in Scotland
Amazon logistics center – all locations in Poland
Amazon logistics center – all locations in the Czech Republic
| Amazon logistics center Dobrovíz PRG2 | Address: Amazon Fulfillment, K Amazonu 235, 252-61 Dobrovíz, Czech Republic Size / warehouse space: 95,000 sqm Number of employees: 5,000 |
Amazon logistics center – all locations in Spain
Amazon logistics center – all locations in Italy
Amazon logistics center – all locations in France
Amazon logistics center – all logistics centers worldwide and in Europe
Amazon manages its global business from its international headquarters in Seattle, where the company was founded. In Europe, the Group’s administrative headquarters are located in Luxembourg, which is complemented by a software development center in Romania (city of Lasi) and the Seller Support Center in Slovakia (city of Bratislava).
Visit Amazon logistics centers
Despite or precisely because Amazon is often criticized by trade unions for adverse working conditions in its logistics centers, the company regularly opens its doors for a warehouse tour at various German locations. On a guided tour through a logistics center, you can see live how “Fulfillment by Amazon” (FBA for short) works.
Visit Amazon warehouse
What actually happens when you click on the “Buy now” button on Amazon? How is a parcel packed in the Amazon warehouse and handed over to logistics for shipping? What does the day-to-day work of Amazon employees at one of the German sites look like? These and many other questions can be answered during a tour of the Amazon warehouse.
Before the coronavirus, visitors could still take the tours on site. In 2019, around 20,000 visitors in Germany took part in tours of Amazon’s logistics centers in Germany. The tour of the logistics center, which was offered for groups of up to 15 people, lasted around one hour. The guided tour of the logistics centers was free of charge and had to be registered in advance. Those who wanted to visit Amazon live could do so at three locations in Germany:
- Visit Amazon warehouse in Graben: http://de.amazonfctours.com/graben/
- Visit Amazon warehouse in Bad Hersfeld http://de.amazonfctours.com/amazon-besuchen-bad-hersfeld/
- Visit Amazon warehouse in Kobern-Gondorf: http://de.amazonfctours.com/amazon-besuchen-kobern-gondorfkoblen/
Guided tours of the Amazon warehouse were also offered at the logistics center in Winsen (Luhe). Site manager Norbert Brandau explained to the YouTube channel “turi2tv” how 100,000 parcels are packed and shipped every day in this Amazon warehouse.
But then came corona. The pandemic turned all locations upside down. To ensure that the tours can still take place despite COVID-19, Amazon has also made this possible virtually. The tours are offered on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 10:30 am and 3:30 pm. Anyone interested can register for the live tours free of charge via the link amazon.de/virtuelletouren. Once you have registered, you will receive the access link by e-mail. The tours last one hour and can be done from the comfort of your own home. While two tour guides explain the processes and procedures live to the viewers, two others moderate. 360-degree recordings and explanatory videos are filmed. A chat allows the audience to ask questions.
Amazon Logistics Jobs
Amazon has created many new jobs in Germany thanks to its various locations in the country. Every year, Amazon hires new employees in the three- to four-digit range. However, the logistics centers are not only looking for shipping employees. Logistics managers, engineers, HR managers and finance and IT experts are also regularly sought at the various Amazon locations in Germany. An overview of all jobs at Amazon can be found here: https://www.amazon.jobs/de/business_categories/fulfillment-operations
Amazon storage system
Despite a few hundred or thousand employees working in one of Amazon’s warehouses, the company relies heavily on robot technology. Up to 4,000 robots are planned for the logistics center currently under construction in Mönchengladbach alone. In contrast, “only” around 1,000 permanent jobs are planned. A clear sign of the direction in which Amazon will develop its warehouse system. In 2016 alone, Amazon increased the use of robots in its warehouses by 50 % According to a report by Winfuture, around 45,000 robots are in use in Amazon warehouses worldwide as of 2017.
The use of robots in distribution centers is nothing new and is not limited to Amazon. What is new, however, is the way the robots work in the warehouses. As reported by Handelsblatt, the flat robots in orange and black bring the shelves directly to the shipping employees. The robots drive under the shelves, lift them and then bring them directly to the employees at the edge of the warehouse. This speeds up Amazon’s work processes and allows more parcels to be packed and shipped. In view of the ever-increasing number of orders per day, Amazon will probably continue to use robot technology for existing and new shipping centers in the future.