
The United States-based Amazon is set to restructure its warehouse operations in the United Kingdom and plans to close three of its centres in the country’s Hemel Hempstead, Doncaster and Gourock, in the west of Scotland, which will impact at least 1,200 jobs. However, the workers will be given a chance to transfer to other Amazon locations, said the online retail giant on Tuesday. This comes days after the company said that it plans to lay off as many as 18,000 employees from its workforce.
The over 1,000 workers employed at the three aforementioned British warehouses will be given a chance to move their jobs internally and the workers at Hemel Hempstead and Doncaster will be moving to nearby centres including the one in Dunstable.
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Notably, Amazon operates 30 warehouses and employs at least 70,000 people overall across the UK which is also one of its biggest markets outside the US. The company also said that it plans to open two new warehouses in central and northeast England which would create 2,500 jobs in the next three years.
Last week, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced one of the biggest layoffs in the company’s history affecting over 18,000 employees across the world in a bid to reduce costs. Notably, Amazon’s warehouse staff in the UK have also demanded better pay and at least 300 of whom plan to strike on January 25.
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However, media reports citing an Amazon spokesperson said that these closures are not related to the company-wide layoffs which affect mainly non-warehouse roles in e-commerce and human resources, rather the decision was made after reviewing the online retail giant’s operations in the UK.
(With inputs from agencies)
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