Amazon has today announced that it will open a one million sq ft fulfilment centre in Coalville, Leicestershire, which will create 500 new permanent jobs over three years. Amazon has started its recruitment programme for a range of positions, from operations managers to engineers, HR and IT roles to associates who will handle orders at the fulfilment centre in Mountpark Bardon. The centre will begin operating this autumn.
The new roles are part of Amazon’s plans to create 2,500 permanent jobs in the UK this year, bringing the company’s total workforce to 14,500 by the end of 2016. As well as creating more jobs in its UK fulfilment centres, Amazon is planning to hire up and down the country at its head office, research and development centres, customer service centres, Fashion Photography Studio and new Amazon Web Services (AWS) UK data centres, which are currently being built in the UK. Amazon has invested more than £4.6 billion in the UK economy to build and run its UK business since 2010.
“We are excited to create 500 new permanent jobs over three years in Leicestershire with competitive wages and comprehensive benefits starting on day one,” said John Tagawa, Amazon’s Vice President of UK Operations. “Amazon has a dedicated and enthusiastic workforce who play a crucial role in delivering a first rate level of service for our customers and we look forward to recruiting people from Leicestershire and the surrounding area.”
All permanent Amazon fulfilment centre employees start on £7.20 an hour or more. This rate increases by at least 11 percent over their first two years of employment, by which time all employees earn £8 an hour or more. All permanent fulfilment centre employees are given stock grants, which over the last five years were on average equal to £1,000 or more per year per person. Fulfilment centre employees also receive a comprehensive benefits package, including private medical insurance, a company pension plan, life assurance, income protection, subsidised meals and an employee discount.
Amazon also runs an innovative programme called Career Choice that provides fulfilment centre employees funding for adult education, offering to pre-pay 95% of tuition and associated fees for nationally recognised courses, up to £8,000 over four years.
Andrew Bridgen, MP for North West Leicestershire, said: “I welcome Amazon’s investment in North West Leicestershire along with its potential for 500 jobs. North West Leicestershire continues to be an area good for business and long-term investment and we are currently enjoying one of the highest economic growth rates outside London and the South East. I am pleased that such a reputable company has the confidence in the area not only given its strategic location but also for the recruitment of a wide ranging work force.”
Amazon has ten fulfilment centres in the UK, including two in Doncaster and one each in Dunfermline, Dunstable, Gourock, Hemel Hempstead, Milton Keynes, Peterborough, Rugeley and Swansea Bay. Two of these centres opened in 2015.
Amazon holds public tours of its fulfilment centres in Rugeley and Hemel Hempstead.
For more information, visit www.amazonfctours.co.uk.