Amazon lays off 16,000 employees, asserts minimal impact in the EU amid uproar in the European Parliament.

Brussels – Two years after its lobbyists were banned from the European Parliament, today (28 January), several Amazon executives appeared before the European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee (EMPL) in what was bound to be a tense hearing: just a few hours earlier, the Seattle-based multinational had announced plans to lay off 16,000 employees worldwide. During the meeting with MEPs, David Zapolsky, Amazon’s vice-president for legal affairs, assured them that the cuts would have “a minimal effect” on the platform’s activities in Europe.

As if there weren’t enough issues to deal with already. For the first time, representatives from Amazon returned to the European Parliament since the EU institution had chosen to ban them in February 2017 due to their stubborn refusal to report on the working conditions of employees in member countries. Before the hearing, the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in the European Parliament had already promised to fight: “The apparent belated willingness to cooperate should in no way detract from the fact that workers’ conditions have not improved,” reads a note from the group. “We will listen very carefully to what Amazon’s management has to say. We expect concrete commitments to end abusive surveillance, ensure decent working conditions and respect trade unions and collective bargaining.”

The three Amazon representatives—Zapolsky via video link, Stefano Perego and Lucy Cronin in the chamber—rattled off figures demonstrating the platform’s contribution to European competitiveness—”225 billion in investments in the EU since 2010″—and its commitment to providing quality jobs to 150,000 citizens in 21 member states. “We believe that the work of this committee is important and we are ready to engage constructively,” said Zapolsky. “We pay up to 12 per cent more than the minimum wage or collective agreements applicable in Europe,” claimed Perego. Cronin, on the other hand, outlined the “many ways” in which Amazon is mobilising to “help communities and people in need across the EU and beyond.”

Zapolsky immediately pointed out that the redundancy plans—today’s announcement follows the decision in October to cut 14,000 jobs—”are always difficult decisions” because “they affect real people and their families,” which is why the company “does not take them lightly” and will commit to “supporting affected employees during this transition with severance pay, professional development opportunities, and other benefits that, in many cases, far exceed our legal obligations.”

A golden opportunity for Maria Malinowska, a worker at a factory in Poland who was dismissed by Amazon, and Oliver Roethig, Regional Secretary of UNI Europa, a confederation of service workers’ unions. Invited (and applauded) by the members of the EMPL Committee, they held Amazon accountable for its responsibilities: workers kept under constant pressure and surveillance, refusal to engage in dialogue with trade unions and collective bargaining.

For Pasquale Tridico, head of the Five Star Movement delegation to the European Parliament, “this is not a labour market, but anarcho-capitalism.” Tridico pointed out that, during the last legislative term, the EU approved with great difficulty a directive on digital platform workers, which “no Member State has yet transposed.” National governments have until 2 December 2026 to do so.