AMAZON IN HUGE RECRUITMENT DRIVE FOR CHRISTMAS

Retailer says it is anticipating its busiest Christmas ever

Online retail giant Amazon is creating more than 2,000 jobs in Peterborough to cope with a surge in demand for Christmas deliveries. The number of seasonal staff needed at the firm’ s fulfilment centre at Kingston Park, Fletton, this Christmas is double the retailer has required in previous years.

An Amazon spokeswoman said the retailer, which employs more than 1,000 fulltime staff in Peterborough, needed the extra workers to be sure it could meet demand over Christmas.

She added: “Amazon is an- ticipating its biggest Christmas period ever, including Black Friday.

“On Black Friday last year, Amazon.co.uksoldmorethan 7.4 million items, at a rate of around 86 items per second.”

Recruitment is already underway and pay for seasonal staff starts at £8 an hour.

The new jobs are among 20,000 plus seasonal roles Amazon is creating at its UK fulfilment centres.

John Tagawa, vice president of UK operations, said: “The thousands of seasonal associates who join us at this time each year play an integral role in helping us deliver an exceptional experience for our customers during the Christmas season.

“We look forward to welcoming back the people who join us each and every Christmas as well as many new faces who will be joining the Amazon team for the first time.”

Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson said: “I’d give this a cautious welcome. Unemployment has plummeted in the city in the last six years so this is confirmation of that trend.

“We need more jobs with good pay rates and terms and hopefully they will turn into permanent vacancies. That said, we need a wide range of new employment - not just logistic and warehousing.”

The Amazon fulfilment centre in Peterborough, which is recuiting for more than 2,000 seasonal staff.