Our commitment makes an important contribution to the local economy, but also to the people in Austria.
The first Amazon package for an Austrian customer was delivered in October 1998. It was - very traditional - a book that our first Austrian customer ordered from Amazon.de. The literary work about a female sculptor was gift wrapped and sent to Vienna. A year later, in 1999, we launched our website Amazon.at.
In 2002 we also opened our website to selling partners in order for independent companies from Austria to sell their products on Amazon and benefit from access to millions of customers worldwide. We are now offering them the option of taking over all required logistics processes needed in e-commerce so that they can sell directly to our loyal Prime customers.
In order to be close to our Austrian customers and to enable developers, authors, selling and delivery partners to use Amazon’s infrastructures, we have continuously developed our economic footprint in Austria.
More than Mozart & Schnitzel: Hello Austria!
Since opening of our first location in Austria in 2016 - a research and development center in Graz, where we cooperate closely with the local university of technology Erzherzog Johann - we have made investments of more than 170 million EUR.
In 2020 alone, we invested 100 million EUR in Austria. This includes both capital expenditure (such as the expenses incurred by constructing and expanding our delivery stations and offices etc.) as well as operating expenditures (such as the salaries of our employees). Because we want to make a difference, we have committed to becoming carbon neutral in our entire global business by 2040. That is why all of our new locations will be equipped with photovoltaic systems and an infrastructure for electromobility.
At the end of 2018, we started to build up our logistics network in Austria in order to offer faster last-mile delivery to our customers. Not only did we create a large number of jobs in our first delivery station in Großebersdorf, Lower Austria, but also a committed team, which is pursuing a common goal: to provide our customers a great shopping experience. We are currently operating two further delivery stations and an Amazon Web Services office in Vienna, as well as a research and development site in Graz. In order to meet our customers’ needs we are planning to further expand our network throughout Austria.
Our team is growing in Austria
Thanks to our steadily growing network in Austria, the number of our employees on site has also increased significantly. The variety of jobs is big: We employ people in fulfillment and distribution of products, HR and customer service, IT, research and development of future technologies.
We currently employ more than 500 people at our logistics locations alone. Our employees get paid customary according to the collective agreement for haulage and warehouse companies. The entry wage amounts 10.88 gross per hour. Furthermore, our local delivery partners generate some 500 additional jobs.
How we get involved locally
We regularly support local communities, i.e. donating to charities and non-profit organizations. In 2020 alone, we have donated 500,000 EUR to the Corona Relief Fund of the Austrian Red Cross. Further donations went to the VinziDorf shelter in Vienna as well as various sports clubs for children and teenagers.
“Our growing investments and teams speak a clear language: We are proud to be active in Austria – a country with international competitive ability – and want to make a contribution to the Austrian economy. That is why we will continue to invest in this industrial location in the future, create jobs and drive innovations for customers in Austria”, says Ralf Kleber, Amazon Country Manager for Austria and Germany.
If you would like to support our team in Austria take a look at our open jobs.
