Amazon has just announced yet another recruitment drive with the creation of 2500 new permanent jobs, subsequently bringing its total UK workforce to 27,500 by the end of the year.
The online retail giant said the jobs would be across “all levels of experience” and include software developers, engineers, technicians and those seeking entry level positions and on-the-job training.
It plans to hire staff for head office, research and development, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and operations roles in various locations around the country.
READ MORE:
It added that 650 roles would be created across its UK development centres and AWS, its cloud computing division, in addition to hundreds of new head office roles.
As a result, Amazon said it would have over 6500 corporate, research and development and AWS roles in the UK by the end of 2018.
In addition, Amazon will hire graduates and interns in a variety of technical, non-technical and operations roles.
The company is currently recruiting a further 170 apprentices in fulfilment centres across the UK with opportunities in operations, engineering and facilities.
Amazon UK country manager Doug Gurr did not provide further details on how many jobs will be created at its warehouses, although the company confirmed 16 of its warehouses were set to recruit – including at new sites in Coventry and Bolton.
Amazon said it has invested more than £9.3 billion in its UK operations since 2010.
“The UK is a fantastic place to do business so we are delighted to continue our investment in the British economy and provide quality, permanent roles for people the length and breadth of the country,” Gurr said.
“Whether you are looking for an entry-level role or in highly-specialised fields such as speech science or machine learning, we are proud to be expanding our UK workforce so we can further improve our products and services like AmazonFresh, Prime Video and Amazon Alexa.”
However, the 2500 new jobs on offer marks a slowdown from the 5000 jobs Amazon added to its UK workforce last year.
The announcement also comes days after the GMB union accused the company of “terrible conditions and poor treatment of workers” at Amazon warehouses.
It cited a series of Freedom of Information requests showing ambulances had been called out 600 times to 14 Amazon warehouses over the last three financial years, and that in more than half of those cases, patients were taken to hospital.
The union also noted a survey of GMB members working at Amazon warehouses, which found that 87 per cent were in “constant or occasional pain due to their workload”.
In its announcement today, Amazon re-iterated that all of its permanent UK employees, whether working in fulfilment centres or offices, receive competitive pay, a comprehensive benefits package, including private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection, an employee discount and a company pension plan.
The online retail giant also highlighted how this year it was named one of the top UK companies for both attracting and retaining talent in LinkedIn’s 2018 Top Attractors list.
The research found that Amazon ranks 7th among UK companies, based on job applications, views and connections on its career page, and retention of new employees.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
