Amazon to open fulfilment centre in Manchester

Amazon has announced today (March 9) that a new fulfilment centre in Manchester will open in the autumn, creating 1,000 new permanent jobs over three years.

The internet giant will be recruiting for a range of positions, from operations managers, engineers and HR and IT roles, to associates who will handle orders at the fulfilment centre near Manchester Airport.

Amazon announced last month that it is also opening a new fulfilment centre in Leicestershire in the autumn, creating 500 new permanent jobs over three years.

The opening of the two sites will take the number of Amazon fulfilment centres in the UK to 12. Amazon has two fulfilment centres in Doncaster and one each in Dunfermline, Dunstable, Gourock, Hemel Hempstead, Milton Keynes, Peterborough, Rugeley and Swansea Bay. Two of these centres opened in 2015.

The new roles are part of Amazon’s plans to create 2,500 permanent jobs in the UK this year, bringing the company’s total workforce to 14,500 by the end of 2016.

As well as creating more jobs in its UK fulfilment centres, Amazon is planning to hire up and down the country at its head office, research and development centres, customer service centres, fashion photography studio and new Amazon Web Services (AWS) UK data centres, which are currently being built in the UK.

Amazon has invested more than £4.6 billion in the UK economy to build and run its UK business since 2010.

John Tagawa, Amazon’s vice president of UK operations, said: “We are excited to open our first fulfilment centre in the north-west of England, creating 1,000 new permanent jobs over three years with competitive wages and comprehensive benefits starting on day one.

“We are proud to continue to add new permanent jobs to grow our dedicated and enthusiastic workforce who play a crucial role in delivering a first rate level of service for our customers.”

Mike Kane, MP for Wythenshawe and Sale East, said: “This is fantastic news for residents of Wythenshawe and Sale East. 1,000 new permanent jobs over three years will open up new opportunities for many people in my constituency. This investment is another big step in the renaissance of Wythenshawe.”