- Almost 1,000 staff at packaging producer DS Smith voted to strike over pay in a move their union said will affect clients of the U.K. firm, including Amazon.com Inc AMZN at one of the busiest times for retail purchases, Bloomberg reported.
- Employees at five DS Smith sites across Britain could walk out before the end of this month, according to an email from the GMB union, which said that 93% of members had backed industrial action.
- Amazon may face a shortage of packaging when fulfilling orders from the Black Friday shopping period as a result of the dispute, the GMB said. Other DS Smith customers include drinks giants PepsiCo, Inc PEP and Diageo Plc DEO, McVities biscuits, and KP snacks.
- The strike ballot followed DS Smith's proposal of a 3% salary increase plus a £760 payment for 2022-2023, according to the union, which says the offer represents a "massive real terms pay cut" with U.K. inflation in double figures.
- In the U.S, at ALB1, the retailer's fulfillment center in Castleton-on-Hudson near the state's capital Albany, employees voted 406 to 206 against joining the Amazon Labor Union in the company's fourth such contest of the year.
- In 2021, Amazon criticized unions in bathroom signage and workshops.
- Amazon recently raised its U.S. average starting pay for front-line staff.
- Price Action: AMZN shares closed lower by 0.49% at $90.53 on Monday.
- Photo by Use at your Ease from Pixabay
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