Amazon to create 10,000 UK jobs by year-end as online shopping boom continues Business News

Amazon is set to create more than 10,000 new jobs in the UK by the end of the year, as it continues to expand rapidly amid growing online shopping.

The e-commerce and web services company plans to open a parcel center and four new warehouses, bringing its total workforce in the UK to 55,000 people.

He said he would also invest an additional £ 10million over three years to train up to 5,000 people in skills they could use in careers outside Amazon.

Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the move was “a huge vote of confidence in the UK economy”.

The new permanent roles will be in engineering, human resources, IT, health and safety, finance and customer order fulfillment.

A new warehouse, or “distribution center”, will open this summer in Hinckley, in the East Midlands, creating 700 new permanent jobs. The company will also open a parcel center in Doncaster and further distribution centers in Dartford, Gateshead and Swindon which will each create more than 1,300 permanent jobs later this year.

New jobs will also be created in corporate offices, web services and operating networks in regions such as London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Cambridge.

Amazon said the pay for these roles would be £ 9.70 per hour, higher than the minimum wage of £ 8.91. Operational roles in London will be paid £ 10.80 per hour.

Amazon UK Country Manager John Boumphrey said: “We are creating thousands of great jobs across the UK from a diverse range of roles with great pay and benefits.

“We are also delighted to be working with UK Chambers of Commerce on a pioneering approach to our Career Choice program to provide the training and skilled workers needed to boost local economies across the country.

“We are proud of the frontline roles we offer on Amazon, and we also know that they will be a stepping stone for some in their career path.”

Amazon has come under fire for the way it treats workers after drivers alleged demanding delivery schedules meant they had to urinate in bottles.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said, “Over the past year, Amazon’s workforce has gone to great lengths to ensure consumers have secure access to goods during this difficult time.

“Their latest investment will open up a wide range of opportunities for even more workers, helping to develop the skills needed to boost the economy of tomorrow.”

Shevaun Haviland, Managing Director of UK Chambers of Commerce, said: “This is a great initiative that will not only help Amazon, but also provide a much broader benefit to the community, while also showing how businesses can be a force for good.

“Providing staff with training to fill skills gaps that exist within the local business community is going to be a key driver in increasing productivity and boosting the economy as the UK recovers from the pandemic.”