An Amazon worker packs items at the Amazon Fulfilment Centre in Peterborough, east England on Nov. 27, 2019.DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images
Amazon will create 10,000 new permanent jobs in the United Kingdom in 2021, taking its total workforce in the country to more than 55,000, it said on Friday.
The announcement provides a welcome boost to Britain’s precarious labour market, with unemployment running at almost 5%.
Amazon said the new jobs will include roles across its operations network, at its corporate offices and Amazon Web Services (AWS).
The group plans to open a new fulfilment centre in Hinckley, central England, creating 700 jobs. It will also open a parcel centre in Doncaster, northern England, and further fulfilment centres in Dartford, near London, Gateshead in northeastern England and Swindon in western England, each creating more than 1,300 permanent jobs.
In addition to roles that pick, pack and ship customer orders, jobs will be created in engineering, human resources, IT and finance.
The corporate roles will be across fashion, digital marketing, engineering, video production, software development, cloud computing, AI and machine learning, the company said.
Amazon also announced a 10 million pound ($14 million) investment over three years to train up to 5,000 employees in new skills.
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