Amazon to stop shipping non-essentials to Italy, France; raises overtime pay for U.S. workers

Amazon.com will stop shipping non-essential products to consumers in Italy and France, according to an announcement the company published in Chinese on the WeChat social media platform on Saturday.

The world's largest online retailer said merchants on Amazon are open to sell and ship directly to customers in the region.

"Effective immediately, Amazon will stop receiving FBA (fulfillment by Amazon) orders from customers on non-essential products on its Italy (Amazon.it) and France (Amazon.fr) site, so that operations employees can focus on fulfilling and delivering on the orders that consumers need the most now," Amazon.com said in a statement translated from Chinese.

Meanwhile, in a separate statement on Saturday, Amazon said it is raising overtime pay for associates working in its U.S. warehouses, as it tries to meet the rapidly growing demand for online shopping from consumers stuck at home during the coronavirus outbreak.

Hourly workers at the warehouses will receive double pay for overtime, up from the 1.5-times rate, from March 15 to May 9, the announcement said.

"All hourly associates working in the U.S. Ops network will receive double their regular hourly rate for every overtime hour worked in a workweek," the company said in a statement.

"This temporary increased overtime pay is effective March 15, 2020 and will continue through May 9. 2020."