Amazon lobbyists banned from EU Parliament following refusal to attend hearings and tours, with 14 employees losing access. Meanwhile, Thrasio, a major Amazon aggregator, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, seeking debt reduction and new financing.
Amazon.com lobbyists have been banned from the European Parliament at the request of the parliament’s employment committee, a spokesperson said on Wednesday, confirming an earlier report by media outlet Politico.
“The Quaestors have authorized the Secretary General to withdraw the long-term access badges of Amazon interest representatives,” she said.
According to zonebourse a European source said the commission had asked Amazon to participate in public hearings, but the US technology company had repeatedly refused.
Amazon had 14 employees in Brussels with access badges to the European Parliament.
“We are very disappointed with this decision, as we want to engage constructively with policymakers,” an Amazon spokesperson said, adding that the company has invited policymakers to tour its facilities on several occasions.
Amazon employees banned from European Parliament
The ban, which means the 14 Amazon employees who had access to the European Parliament can no longer enter the building without an invitation, follows the company’s decision not to attend a January hearing about working conditions inside its fulfillment centers. In December, Amazon also rejected MEPs’ [members of European Parliament] requests to tour its fulfillment centers, citing how busy they were over the Christmas period.
“This is not a serious way to treat the European Parliament,” says Dragoș Pîslaru, the Romanian MEP and chair of the Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, who formally requested the ban. “We are representing 500 million citizens and it is not a joke. You cannot just say that your senior representatives are not available when the parliament is asking you.”
As per wired companies originating outside Europe should take the EU Parliament as seriously as the US Congress, he adds. “The European Parliament is not holding grudges,” he says. “This is about us requesting to be respected as an institution.”
Amazon Aggregator Thrasio files for bankruptcy
Furthermore, a major third-party seller on Amazon filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a New Jersey court on Wednesday.
Walpole, Massachusetts-based Thrasio is asking the court to oversee a restructuring agreement with lenders, which will allow it to cut about $495 million in debt and defer its interest payments for a year after it exits bankruptcy.
Thrasio is what is known as an Amazon aggregator, companies that buy other, smaller Amazon sellers, the independent businesses responsible for the majority of sales on the dominant e-commerce platform.
Aggregators raised large sums from investors seeking to cash in from Amazon sellers as online sales boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic. But that growth slowed as the pandemic eased and shoppers began to purchase more items in person, or shifted their spending toward other things, like traveling and dining.
According to marketscreener, last year, another Amazon aggregator, Benitago, filed for bankruptcy .
In its filing, Thrasio said it has received commitments of up to $90 million in new financing from lenders. It lists up to $10 billion in assets and up to $1 billion in liabilities.
