Amazon Germany says more worried about snow than strikes

 Amazon.com Inc has no intention of bowing to pressure from striking workers in Germany, its second biggest market behind the United States, and is more worried about bad weather hurting Christmas deliveries, its country head said.

"We are talking about a minority who take part in actions brought on by the union," Ralf Kleber told Reuters in an interviewTrade union Verdi has staged a series of strikes this year in a dispute over pay and conditions at distribution centers in Leipzig and Bad Hersfeld. On Monday, the union said about 1,000 employees walked out, almost a fifth of the regular workforce there. Amazon said less than 800 staff had joined the strike.

"Snowfall in Germany is the bigger problem in the Christmas business ... that is what gives me worry lines," Kleber said, adding that the strikes had not affected deliveries so far.

E-commerce sales in Germany are seen growing 12 percent for the full year to 33.1 billion euros ($45 billion), expanding an even faster 15 percent in the Christmas period, when the sector should make 8.5 billion euros in sales.

Amazon employs 9,000 warehouse staff in Germany plus 14,000 seasonal workers and sales there grew almost 21 percent in 2012 to $8.7 billion, representing a third of its overseas total.Amazon has announced recently it would build three new logistics centers in Poland and two in the Czech Republic, prompting speculation that it could seek to shift work across the border from strike-hit centers in Germany.

But Kleber said Amazon expected to keep expanding in Germany, including eventually delivering fresh groceries too, without giving a timetable. Its newest distribution center outside Berlin held its formal opening on Thursday.

"We have bonuses for the whole team rather than for the individual so nobody has an incentive to rush," said Karsten Mueller, head of the new Brieselang center, whose 1,000 staff will shift about 110,000 parcels on a busy day.

Sorting goods in six halls spread across the area of 10 football pitches, staff work 9-1/2 hour shifts in the peak period before Christmas, including a 45-minute break, with order pickers walking an average of 8-10 km a shift.

In addition to strikes, Amazon has faced criticism in Germany for a low tax bill and from the antitrust watchdog, which forced it to stop demanding third-party merchants offer their cheapest price when selling products on its platform.