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Amazon’s commitment to expanding its workforce in the UK is showing no signs of slowing down. The ecommerce giant has announced plans to create 400 new jobs by opening a new fulfilment centre in Rugby, according to Reuters.
Rugby will be the fourth Amazon fulfilment centre in the region, and joins centres in Coalville and Daventry, which opened in 2016, and Rugeley, which opened in 2011.
The online retailer said it has started recruiting managers, engineers, HR and IT specialists, with factory floor recruitment to begin in the coming weeks. Stefano Perego, Amazon’s director of customer fulfilment, said: “We are delighted to expand our operations in the Midlands where we already have a dedicated workforce of more than 2,500 people. We are thrilled to begin recruitment for 400 new permanent roles in Rugby with competitive wages and comprehensive benefits starting on day one.”
As well as opening up in Rugby, Amazon plans to open three further new fulfilment centres in 2018 in Bristol, Bolton and Coventry. Since 2010, Amazon has invested some £6.4 billion in the UK on research and development, head office functions and fulfilment and logistics infrastructure.
This is the latest spate of job creation from the company in the UK. Amazon had reaffirmed its commitment to the country in the wake of Brexit by stating that its workforce would be raised to over 24,000 in 2017 – adding 5,000 jobs. Throughout the year, the company has opened new fulfillment centres in Daventry, Doncaster, Tilbury and Warrington, creating, between them, in excess of 2,300 jobs. In addition, Amazon also announced in August that it is to add over 1,000 jobs at its new Bristol fulfillment centre.
In spite of its positive efforts in job creation, the online retail giant has recently caught a lot of criticism for its tax payments. While it rectified the 2012 findings that it paid no corporation tax, Amazon only paid £7.4 million in tax, despite retail sales surpassing £7 billion.
