The foundamental basics of Amazon's development in Spain and the evolution of its package delivery system
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51302/rtss.2024.22189Keywords:
e-commerce, human resources, monopsony, delivery service partners, union postal, independent contractors, outsourcing, Amazon companyAbstract
This study aims to focus precisely on the working conditions of this distribution that reaches the doors of our homes, and, more specifically, on the people who deliver for Amazon. The use of this preposition is not accidental. Many of these personnel in charge of distribution are not direct employees of some of Amazon's subsidiaries, but rather work for contracting companies that perform the "last mile". This expression has an interesting double meaning. It alludes, on the one hand, to the companies that in the logistics sector carry out the delivery closest to the private homes or destination places of the packages. On the other hand, the "last mile" phrase has traditionally been confronted with the hardness of the last stretch of a marathon, which would be a metaphor for the precariousness of work for these companies. No wonder some union research has played with this image, changing the adjective last to worst. The study analyzes the business model and the business structure for managing delivery personnel and its effects.
Supporting Agencies
Estudio que forma parte del proyecto de investigación del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación titulado «Algoritmos extractivos y neuroderechos. Retos regulatorios de la digitalización del trabajo» (ref. PID2022-139967NB-I00).
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