Amazon invests hundreds of millions of euros in German logistics expansion

E-commerce giant Amazon is rapidly expanding its logistics network in Germany, investing close to €200 million in two newly-opened fulfilment centres and planning numerous smaller facilities across the country ready for this autumn’s peak season.  

Overall, Amazon currently employs some 13,000 logistics workers at 25 differently-sized logistics facilities in Germany. These include 13 large fulfilment centres, 3 medium-sized regional sorting centres and 9 local delivery stations for final-mile operations.

The two newest fulfilment centres are located in Frankenthal, south-western Germany, and in the city of Mönchengladbach in the north-west. The company invested €105 million into technical equipment in Mönchengladbach and €80 million in Frankenthal.

Amazon expects the ‘DUS4’ logistics centre in Mönchengladbach, which opened earlier this month, to create more than 1,000 full-time positions in its first year. Employees receive support through state-of-the-art technologies. For example, robots transport the approximately 34,000 shelves to and from picking and packing workstations.

With the expansion of the logistics network, Amazon is responding to growing customer demand. Ernst Schäffler, site manager in Mönchengladbach, commented: “It enables us to expand product choice and support a growing number of independent, small businesses using Amazon shipping.”

In Frankenthal, more than 1,600 employees work with several hundred state-of-the-art transport robots in the 88,000 sqm logistics centre that was officially opened in June after going into operation last year. More than 70 technicians ensure that the more than 100,000 daily items leave the centre smoothly. Around 11 million items from Amazon, but also from SMEs are stored in the facility, most of them no larger than a shoebox.

Elsewhere, Amazon is due to open this autumn a 34,000 sqm regional sorting centre in Schönefeld, close to the future Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport.

Countless local delivery stations are also springing up across the country, with many of them scheduled to open this autumn ready for peak season. At these sites, Amazon workers receive packages from larger centres, sort and load them into vans for final-mile delivery by local courier and parcel companies.

In Wunstorf, near Hanover, Amazon will open a 25,000 sqm delivery station, from which 10 delivery partners with approximately 500 drivers will deliver parcels. A similarly-sized 23,000 sqm delivery station will open in Erfurt, creating 100 jobs, from where some 400 drivers will deliver packages to the surrounding region.

In Bremen, property developer Goodman is building a 12,500 sqm facility for Amazon that will open this autumn, initially creating 130 warehouse jobs. About 400 drivers will deliver parcels to the surrounding region. An 8,000 sqm delivery station is due to open at Völklingen, Saarland, by end-2020, creating 110 jobs.

Just this May, Amazon already opened a similarly-sized 8,000 sqm delivery centre in Hamburg. This has already been in operation since September 2018 and 150 workers load sorted articles from different logistics centres in 300 delivery vans, which are delivered by eight regional courier firms.

Amazon’s latest move is a new 3,400 sqm sorting centre in Nuremberg. The facility will be less than 50 km away from another planned centre in Eggolsheim, which the company already announced earlier this year. Around 90 new jobs are planned, with 150 drivers to be hired by partner delivery companies.

Other projects include a new delivery station near Potsdam to open in autumn 2019, creating 150 new sorting jobs. Items will be delivered by 5-8 partner companies with around 300 drivers. Smaller planned locations include Borgsted and Nützen in Schleswig-Holstein and Eschweiler, near Aachen.

All in all, Amazon plans to create more than 2,800 additional jobs in Germany by end-2019. New jobs will be created in offices, development and logistics centres.