Amazon workers begin 17-day strike against closure of hub near Barcelona

The 17-day strike against the closure of the Amazon hub in Martorelles, a small town north of Barcelona, began at 6:30 on Wednesday morning with workers blocking off access to the site.

A number of employees then made their way to the company's logistics center in El Prat de Llobregat, where they managed to put activity to a standstill by preventing vehicles from entering and leaving the premises. 

This comes as the e-commerce giant announced plans to relocate the Martorelles hub it opened in 2017 to Zaragoza, in the neighboring region of Aragon, as well as to open an automated plant with over 1,400 workers in El Far d'Empordà, in northern Catalonia, to "make sure the operations network fits the firm's needs and in order to improve the experience for employees and clients."

While Amazon has pledged to maintain the 800 Martorelles jobs and is in talks with unions, the company went public with plans to lay off 18,000 people worldwide in early January. 

Amazon's goal, however, is to have over 25,000 permanent workers in Spain by the end of 2025 after investing over €10 billion since 2011.

Workers want to stay in Barcelona area

"We have always given our 200% and that is what we'll continue doing, but on the outside," Esther Rodríguez, the head of the workers' committee, said of the protests, lamenting what she described as the lack of substantial progress following hours of talks with company representatives as employees wish to stay in the Barcelona area.

"We've had to put a number on the table but what has always been more important for us is our relocation," Rodríguez explained. 

Amazon has only offered to relocate around 100 workers to the El Prat de Llobregat warehouses. The company also has another plant in Castellbisbal, a 30-minute drive from the capital.