Amazon to create 10,000 UK jobs in wake of online shopping boom

Amazon is creating 10,000 permanent jobs in the UK in response to the boom in online shopping seen during the pandemic.

With this latest hiring spree, Amazon's total UK workforce will number up to 55,000 strong by the end of the year.

The online retailer also said that it would open a new fulfilment centre in Hinckley, East Midlands, this summer, creating 700 new permanent jobs. The company was also set to open a parcel reception centre in Doncaster and new fulfilment centres in Dartford, Gateshead, and Swindon, each of which would create more than 1,300 permanent jobs later in 2021.

Hiring at its corporate offices included offers for positions such as engineering, fashion, video production and cloud computing. There would also be vacancies for the Amazon Web Services division which offers internet services to third parties.

Corporate roles would also be available in offices in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Cambridge.

Amazon also said that it would invest £10m over the next three years in training courses for up to 5,000 employees in new skills, plus support the Government’s investment programme.

“This training will be offered through Amazon’s Career Choice programme, where the company pays course fees for its employees who have expressed an interest in pursuing a career outside of the company”, the company said in a press release on Friday.

John Boumphrey, Amazon’s UK country manager, said: “We’re proud of the frontline roles we offer across Amazon. We also know that they will be a stepping stone for some in their career journey. For people whose ambitions fall outside of our company, we are pleased to support them by paying for training and academic courses that can get them to where they want to be.”

“We’re creating thousands of good jobs across the UK from a diverse range of roles with excellent pay and benefits."

Business Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, added: “Amazon’s announcement today is fantastic news and a huge vote of confidence in the British economy, helping us deliver on our commitment to level up across the UK with a whopping 10,000 new permanent jobs. As we build back better from the pandemic, this is a prime investment in our retail sector.

“Over the past year, Amazon’s workforce have pulled out all the stops to ensure consumers have had safe access to goods during this challenging time. Their latest investment will open up a wide range of opportunities for even more workers, helping to develop the skills needed to power tomorrow’s economy.”

All the positions were in addition to the 1,000 full-time apprenticeships Amazon was planning to create in the UK in 2021 and which were announced in February.