Amazon to open new Rugby fulfilment centre

Amazon's new fulfilment centre in Rugby will create 400 new jobs, the e-tailer has said.

The move is part of the e-commerce giant's plans to increase the size of its UK fulfilment centre network to meet increasing customer demand, expand selection and enable SMEs selling on Amazon Marketplace to scale their businesses, the company said.

Amazon has started recruiting for a range of new roles for the fulfilment centre, including operations managers, engineers, HR and IT specialists. Recruitment for the Amazon team in Rugby who will pick, pack and ship customer orders will begin in the coming weeks.

The pay rate for permanent Amazon employees increases over their first two years of employment, when all employees earn £8.35 an hour and above. All permanent Amazon fulfilment centre employees are given stock grants, which over the last five years were on average equal to £1,000 or more per year per person. Amazon also offers employees a programme called Career Choice that provides funding for adult education, offering to pre-pay 95% of tuition and associated fees for nationally recognised courses, up to £8,000 over four years.

However, a recent interview with an Amazon warehouse employee conducted by The Guardian described the stressful effects of the job. The worker reported that if he didn't get through 250 items an hour he would be given a warning and that stepping away from his station to get a drink of water would have a "big impact" on his performance. He said he worried about "passing out" and that he had lost a lot of weight since starting the job.

Mark Pawey, MP for Rugby, said: “I was very pleased to learn that such a substantial and well known business such as Amazon had chosen Rugby for their new fulfilment centre and that in time it will provide 400 permanent jobs, and opportunities, for local people. The decision demonstrates the ever increasing strength of our thriving local economy and the confidence that business has in our area.”

Rugby will be the fourth Amazon fulfilment centre in the Midlands and joins centres in Coalville and Daventry which opened in 2016 and Rugeley which opened in 2011.

In addition to Rugby, Amazon has announced plans to open three further new fulfilment centres in 2018 in Bristol, Bolton and Coventry.

Amazon's first dedicated UK receive centre will open in Coventry in 2018 and act as a central hub to receive and sort products sold on Amazon.co.uk. Recruitment for Coventry will begin this year and will create 1,650 full time permanent jobs, the company said.