Amazon plans to extend until May 18th the closure of its six French warehouses, which have been closed since April 16th after court rulings ordering the US e-commerce giant to restrict deliveries during the coronavirus pandemic.

Amazon said on Wednesday it was continuing to consult with staff representatives and was also reviewing their request to include an independent expert in the process.

“Our fulfilment centres are safe. However, the potential penalty outlined by the Versailles Court of Appeal means that even a rate of 0.1 per cent of handling or shipping items that are not included in the judgement could lead to a fine of more than a billion euros per week,” Amazon said in a statement.

"Unfortunately, this means we have no option but to keep our fulfilment centres in France temporarily closed. We therefore anticipate a further extension of the temporary closure until May 18th," it added. – Reuters