Amazon is to create 1,200 new permanent jobs as it opens a new warehouse in Warrington where staff will work alongside the online retail giant’s robots.
The US group said the new fulfilment centre, part of a significant expansion across the UK, will take its workforce in Britain to 24,000 by the end of this year.
Amazon will be hiring for a range of new roles including operations managers, engineers, human resources and IT specialists. The Warrington site will be one of two, along with Tilbury, due to open this autumn, which will be equipped with advanced Amazon robotics technology.
“The Amazon teams are dedicated to innovating in our fulfilment centres to increase efficiency of delivery while enabling greater selection at lower costs for our customers,” said Stefano Perego, director of UK customer fulfilment at Amazon UK.
“The introduction of Amazon robotics in Warrington and Tilbury is the latest example of our commitment to invention in logistics on behalf of our employees and our customers.”
The company, which will have 15 fulfilment centres across the UK by the end of this year, said that it is offering “competitive wages and comprehensive benefits” to new staff.
Fufilment centre staff will start on £7.65 an hour minimum, rising to at least £8.15 over their first two years of employment. Employees also receive grants of Amazon shares and a company pension.
“We are thrilled to begin recruitment for 1,200 new permanent roles in Warrington with competitive wages and comprehensive benefits starting on day one,” said Perego.
The company has already opened one new fulfilment centre this year, Daventry in February, with centres at Doncaster, Warrington and Tilbury to begin operation in the autumn. The Daventry, Doncaster and and Tilbury sites created more than 2,300 new jobs.
Amazon is also opening its first dedicated “receive centre” in Coventry next year, which will act as a central hub to receive and sort millions of products sold by its UK site each year. Recruitment for Coventry, which will create 1,650 jobs, will begin next year.
