Amazon and unions agree layoff package for 791 workers in Barcelona

Amazon and trade unions have reached an agreement for a layoffs package affecting 791 workers in their corporate offices in Barcelona.

The deal will see 19% fewer workers laid off than initially announced at the beginning of the process in November.

According to a statement from the CCOO trade union on Wednesday, the main cause of the layoffs is the automation of processes due to the implementation of artificial intelligence.

Added to this is the relocation to other places "with laxer labor regulations."

As agreed, people who lose their jobs will receive compensation of 38 days per year worked with a cap of 24 monthly payments and a minimum compensation of €7,000.

In addition, they will have paid leave until February 28.

A payment of €1,500 has also been agreed for people who have a visa that depends on their employment contract and health insurance will be paid up until May 31.

This layoffs is part of a reduction in the workforce throughout Spain of around 900 workers, 80% of whom in the Catalan capital and the rest in the offices in Madrid.

Initially, the corporation's plan was to dismiss 1,200 people in Spain.

The affected workers are not in the logistics centers but instead work as telephone operators and ICT personnel in the BCN10 and BCN15 buildings of Amazon, in the Poblenou neighborhood.

Call center employees primarily serve suppliers, while the ICT personnel perform IT, translation, taxation, identity checks, and data management tasks.