Amazon to employ 7,000 people in UK as virus fuels online demand
Amazon will create 7,000 permanent jobs in the united kingdom by the finish of the year, the united states e-commerce giant announced Thursday as the coronavirus pandemic fuels online shopping while hurting bricks-and-mortar businesses.
Following Amazon’s announcement, coffee chain Costa said it planned to axe 1,650 roles in Britain.
While several British retailers and eateries have together axed a large number of jobs following a country’s virus lockdown, others including supermarket giant Tesco are creating plenty of jobs to handle booming online demand.
Amazon said it'll add “7,000 long lasting roles by the end of 2020 across a lot more than 50 sites, including corporate offices and two new fulfilment centres”.
Its total long term UK workforce will number more than 40,000, up by a third in just twelve months as the pandemic triggers a surge in online shopping.
Stefano Perego, Amazon’s vice president of European customer fulfilment, said his company is “employing thousands of talented individuals in a various selection of good jobs from businesses managers and tech professionals to people to take care of customer orders” over the UK.
“Our persons have played a crucial role in serving customers in these unprecedented times and the new roles can help us continue to meet customer demand and support small and medium sized businesses selling on Amazon,” he added.
The company, which includes already created 3,000 new permanent UK roles this year, added on Thursday that it'll offer a lot more than 20,000 seasonal positions across the country ahead of the festive period.
“This huge expansion announced in the united kingdom by Amazon comes as little surprise, given the massive surge in sales the tech giant has experienced, as the e-commerce sector boomed through the pandemic,” noted Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Bittersweet
Business Secretary Alok Sharma hailed Amazon’s announcement, with UK unemployment set to surge following the government ends next month its Covid-19 furlough scheme that is paying wages for an incredible number of private-sector workers.
“While it has been a challenging time for many businesses, it really is hugely encouraging to see Amazon creating 10,000 jobs in the united kingdom this year,” Sharma said.
“This is not only great news for all those buying a new job, but also a clear vote of confidence in the united kingdom economy as we build back better from the pandemic,” he added.
Britain’s economy shrank by one fifth in the second quarter, a lot more than any European neighbour, as the lockdown plunged the united states into its deepest recession on record.
There is meanwhile much uncertainty surrounding the strength and pace of recovery, prompting Costa’s announcement Thursday on its planned job cuts.
“We have had to make these difficult decisions to safeguard the business and ensure we safeguard as much jobs as possible for our 16,000 associates,” Neil Lake, managing director for Costa Coffee UK and Ireland, said in a statement.
Although the huge drop off in visits to UK stores is easing after the government lifted its lockdown in late June, it had been still down 30.8 percent in August compared with a year earlier according to a survey Thursday by data provider Springboard.
