Amazon announces UK closures and hiring

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The American e-commerce giant Amazon announced on Tuesday a reorganization in the United Kingdom including the closure of three distribution centers employing 1,200 people and the opening of two others with 2,500 new hires.

Amazon has “launched a consultation on the proposal to close three fulfilment centres in 2023” and “also plans to open two new centers, creating 2,500 new jobs over the next three years,” the company said in a statement sent. to AFP.

In addition, some 1,200 employees will be affected by the proposed closures of the three sites at Hemel Hempstead near London, Doncaster in central England and Gourock ( Scotland).

But all “will be offered the possibility of being transferred to another site,” said the company, which currently has 30 warehouses in the country.

The two new sites will be open near Birmingham in the west of England and Durham in the north.

“We are constantly evaluating our network to ensure it meets the needs of our company and to improve the experience of our employees and customers” and in this context the company “may close older sites, improve existing facilities or open new sites”, specified Amazon.

< p>This reorganization has nothing to do with Amazon’s announcements last week of 18,000 job cuts worldwide, a company spokesperson told AFP.

The group had confirmed these job cuts on Thursday, which also concern Europe, a new major sign of the difficulties of the technology sector in the United States.

Amazon, which had recruited with a vengeance during the pandemic to meet the explosion in demand, notably saw its net profit drop by 9% over one year in third quarter of 2022.