Asger Risom
Amazon’s Italian logistics arm has moved to close a high-profile investigation into alleged tax and labour violations.
Amazon’s Italian logistics arm has moved to close a high-profile investigation into alleged tax and labour violations. The settlement, according to sources cited by Reuters, follows months of scrutiny over the company’s use of third-party delivery providers.
The deal brings an end to a probe that had raised questions about employment models used across the country’s booming home-delivery sector.
Settlement details
Reuters reported that Amazon’s local unit paid about 180 million euros to Italy’s tax authority, a figure that exceeds the 121 million euros seized by Milan prosecutors when the investigation began in July 2024.
Prosecutors had accused the group’s logistics services arm of bypassing labour and tax rules by relying on cooperatives or limited liability companies to supply delivery workers. Authorities said the model reduced VAT payments and lowered social security contributions.
The arrangement places Amazon among more than 30 firms that have reached comparable deals in the last two years. According to a judicial document cited by Reuters, combined payments from these settlements have now surpassed 1 billion euros.
Corporate response
Following the agreement, Amazon said in a statement reported by Reuters: “We have clarified our position with the relevant authorities, who have recognized the high standards of our collaboration model with delivery partners.”
The company added that its work with Italian regulators and industry groups “has improved compliance across the entire industry.”
Officials in Milan have been examining hiring structures across multiple logistics operators, including Italian units of DHL, FedEx, UPS and the supermarket chain Esselunga.
Wider scrutiny
Italian investigators have focused on practices in which delivery firms outsource labour to smaller entities, a system critics say can complicate oversight of tax and employment obligations.
Sources: Reuters
