Amazon Eyes Colombia for New Customer Service Center

Online retail giant Amazon plans to bring some 600 jobs to Bogota, Colombia this year with the opening of its new customer service center, company officials said Tuesday.

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"We are delighted to invest this year in Bogota and work with such qualified people in Colombia, who bring high levels of experience and passion for their work," said Tom Weiland, Amazon's vice president of Worldwide Customer Service.

With 24-hour service, seven days a week, the new center will offer services to customers in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

"Amazon's customer service is dedicated to answering and responding to the needs of our customers today and night. You cannot be happier to launch this site in Colombia, and that is part of our global network," Weiland said.

The U.S.-based online shopping company explained it planned to open a 'virtual customer service center' (VCS), which will allow employees to work from the comfort of their own homes – a significant step away from the treatment of its other international employees.

The commercial giant has been the focus of numerous human rights cases around the world over the last year, with employees complaining of inhumane working conditions.

Last month, Amazon workers in Spain were attacked by police during a three-day strike protesting the company’s attempts to neglect workers rights, wage cuts, working conditions, and restrictions on time off.

This was the second walk-out this year at the San Fernando warehouse, where most of Amazon's 1,600-strong Spanish workforce is based. Amazon workers in seven centers in Germany and Poland also joined the protest.

In the United Kingdom, undercover writer James Bloodworth reported that Amazon employees in Staffordshire were "peeing in bottles" due to strict time limits and time-saving initiatives fostered in the company.

After the United States, Germany is Amazon's second largest national market. Net sales have grown by at least 20 percent last year to US$17 billion, accounting for about 9.5 percent of the total, per the company's annual report.