More than 1,000 staff at the fulfilment centre are expected to take part in the walkout, which is part of an ongoing dispute between the online retail giant and its employees.

The strike comes on Black Friday, one of Amazon’s busiest shopping days of the year, but the company has insisted that orders will not be impacted. Still, the coordinated labour action in the UK coincides with protests planned across Europe and the US on the same big day for deals. Unions say it will be the largest single day of collective action targeting Amazon in its history.

Employees are demanding a wage increase to at least £15 per hour, far above the minimum £13 rate Amazon recently announced it would institute next April. With the cost of living skyrocketing, workers argue the tech giant can well afford more generous pay and benefits considering its enormous profits.

The unions spearheading the strikes hope that disrupting operations on the key shopping date will force Amazon executives to address grievances over compensation and working conditions. But Amanda Gearing, a prominent organiser in the UK, said the Black Friday walkout "will go down as a turning point in Amazon’s history” regardless of the company dismissing the impacts.

Gearing contends that "working people who make Amazon’s business model possible stand up to demand their share of the company’s enormous wealth” on Friday. She also foresees the collective action echoing far beyond the UK, galvanizing other Amazon employees to push for better treatment worldwide.

The next few hours will determine how significantly the strikes impede Amazon’s critical holiday season operations. But the show of force already signals growing worker resolve to challenge the e-commerce leviathan’s labour policies on one of retail’s most pivotal days.