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Amazon says it will grow its workforce by a third during 2020

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Amazon said today that it would create 10,000 new jobs over the course of this year. So far, 3,000 new jobs in its fulfilment and delivery operations have been created, with a further 7,000 to follow by the end of this year in locations including its corporate offices and fulfilment centres.  This takes Amazon’s permanent UK workforce to more than 40,000 people – an expansion that will help the retailer manage high levels of demand during a time of self-isolation and social distancing, and beyond. 

Amazon says many of those who joined during the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown as their own jobs were badly affected would have the chance to move into a permanent job. More than 700 people have also joined during the year as apprentices in areas including automation engineers, IT, digital marketing and fashion buying. 

Stefano Perego, Amazon vice president of European customer fulfilment, said: “We’re proud to be creating 10,000 new permanent roles across our UK network of fulfilment centres, sort centres and delivery stations offering competitive wages and comprehensive benefits starting on day one. Our people have played a critical role in serving customers in these unprecedented times and the new roles will help us continue to meet customer demand and support small and medium-sized businesses selling on Amazon. 

“The new state-of-the-art robotics fulfilment centres in the North East and the Midlands as well as the thousands of additional roles at sites across the country underline our commitment to the people and communities in which we operate. We are employing thousands of talented individuals in a diverse range of good jobs from operations managers and tech professionals through to people to handle customer orders.” 

The retailer is also now hiring for more than 20,000 temporary jobs over the Christmas period.

Business secretary Alok Sharma said: “While this has been a challenging time for many businesses, it is hugely encouraging to see Amazon creating 10,000 jobs in the UK this year. 

“This is not only great news for those looking for a new job, but also a clear vote of confidence in the UK economy as we build back better from the pandemic. The government remains deeply committed to supporting retailers of all sizes and we continue to work closely with the industry as we embark on the road to economic recovery.” 

Amazon is an an Elite retailer in RXUK Top500 research. 

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