Lorraine Williamson
The announcement of Amazon job cuts in Spain has shaken the country’s tech sector. While the company insists Spain remains a strategic market, 1,200 office-based employees in Madrid and Barcelona now face losing their jobs as part of a global restructuring.
What unsettles workers most is not only the scale of the layoffs but the lack of clarity around why they are necessary. Especially when the company continues to grow and generate profit.
This wave of redundancies is not isolated. Amazon has already cut thousands of jobs in the United States, Germany and other countries this year, claiming the need to streamline structures and adapt faster to technological shifts. Unlike logistics centres, the departments affected in Spain include HR, administration, finance and marketing. Amazon argues this is an internal reorganisation rather than a step back from Spain, but that has done little to ease concerns among staff.
Unions demand transparency — and dignity
Trade unions CCOO and UGT accuse Amazon of making “abrupt and unjustified” decisions. They argue that the company has not provided a clear economic reason for cutting so many jobs and insist there are alternatives, such as reassigning employees internally, retraining, or voluntary departure schemes. CCOO points out that Amazon is profitable in Spain, while UGT says the proposal is “incomprehensible” given the company’s ongoing expansion and investment.
Negotiations are now under way, but workers say they still do not know what conditions they will be offered. This uncertainty is already affecting morale, with many employees unsure whether to stay, speak up, or start looking elsewhere.
Fear inside Amazon’s Spanish offices
At Amazon’s corporate hubs in Madrid and Barcelona — often seen as centres of innovation and career growth — the mood has changed dramatically. Staff describe an atmosphere of anxiety, hushed conversations in corridors, and constant refreshing of emails in case news arrives about who is next. Some fear losing their livelihoods, while others cling to the hope of a fair compensation package if their role disappears.
Families with mortgages and young children worry about what lies ahead. For many, the hardest part is not knowing.
Spain remains vital — but tensions are rising
Despite the redundancies, Amazon continues to invest heavily in Spain. It has opened new logistics centres in Catalonia and Andalucia, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) operates major data centres in Aragón. These facilities are key to the company’s European digital infrastructure, although they have sparked debate about water consumption during droughts.
The company says Spain is still a growth market. Yet this message clashes with the reality of job losses, eroding trust among employees and raising questions about how Amazon balances profit with social responsibility.
A wider warning for Spain’s workforce
The situation reflects a broader trend in the tech industry: global giants rapidly restructuring to cut costs, with workers bearing the consequences. For Spain — a country trying to position itself as a digital leader — the case has revived a familiar debate. Can a modern economy rely on multinational companies if jobs can vanish overnight? And what protections should employees have when global decisions land at their doorstep?
Union negotiations will determine how the layoff scheme is applied and whether employees receive fair treatment. If no agreement is reached, protests and legal challenges are likely. For now, the shadow of Amazon job cuts in Spain hangs over hundreds of households — a reminder that even in booming tech companies, job security can disappear without warning.
Source: El País