Amazon News: Is The Retail Giant Looking To Expand More In Europe?

Online shopping giant Amazon (AMZN) has announced that it will open up a new warehouse in Germany, which will create 2,800 jobs in Europe's largest economy.

The expansion would mean Amazon would have 20,000 employees across the country. The new warehouse would be located in Moenchenglabach, which is located in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

In early July, reports surfaced that Amazon would hire 2,000 mostly warehouse workers in the U.K., which would bring the total to nearly 30,000 in the country.

The moves come as Amazon has experienced controversies recently not only in Germany but also in France.

On Saturday, the company came under fire by Germany's Jewish community for selling anti-Semitic books and Nazi merchandise.

"It is completely unacceptable that t-shirts and stickers be sold via Amazon that glorify the Nazis or incite hatred against minorities," Josef Schuster, the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, told the German media.

German law currently prevents the dissemination of propaganda of an unconstitutional organization, which German courts have used to ban Nazi symbols. Schuster said that Amazon has a "great moral and social responsibility" to "immediately withdraw these articles from circulation."

Amazon has been scrutinized by activists in France for its environmental practices ahead of the opening of three new warehouses there this summer. The activists have protested Amazon for the toll its international logistics systems take on the environment and its policy of throwing away unsold goods.

Activists in Germany could also show up to protest the new warehouse, as Germany has a prominent youth environmental movement.

Germany is Amazon's second-biggest market after the United States.

In December, German union Verdi called on workers at two logistics centers in the country to strike, demanding increased pay. Similar strikes at Amazon locations have also taken place in Spain and Poland.