Amazon to close three warehouses and seven delivery sites, putting 1,300 jobs at risk

Amazon has announced plans to close three warehouses and seven delivery sites in the UK, putting 1,300 jobs at risk.

Warehouses in Doncaster, Hemel Hempstead and Gourock, west Scotland, all face closure. The online retailer will also close delivery sites in Huntingdon, Horley, Newcastle, Birmingham and Hemel Hempstead, which employ at least 20 staff each. Sites in Portsmouth and Aylesford will be relocated to buildings nearby.

The closures come as Amazon prepares to open two new warehouses in Peddimore in the West Midlands and Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, which will employ 2,500 people. Roughly 500 employees at Hemel Hempstead will be offered roles at Amazon’s Dunstable fulfilment centre and other locations in the area under the proposal. Meanwhile, the 400 employees in Doncaster’s Balby Carr Bank site will be transferred to the town’s other two fulfilment centres on Doncaster’s iPort. However, it is expected that many will lose their jobs, particularly the 300 members of staff in Gourock, who are not located near any alternative sites.

Neil Bibby, Scottish Labour MSP for west Scotland, said the move will have a “devastating” impact on an area with already high unemployment rates.

He commented: “This workforce played a major role in supporting people through the pandemic and the holiday period. Their hard work made sure our supplies arrived when we were locked down and our gifts arrived before Christmas Day.

“The Scottish government should leave no stone unturned in trying to minimise the impact of these job losses and help people back into employment.

“We know Amazon has benefitted from significant public funds and it is disappointing it has decided to up and leave a community that has served it so well.”

Steve Garelick, GMB union officer for Hemel Hempstead, said: “To see sites close tells you that the situation is actually perilous for Amazon and they are obviously in financial dire straits.

“To tell workers that they can wait three years to find work at another site or go many miles down the road to another site, forgetting that they might have childcare or other responsibilities, is laughable.”

During the Covid-19 pandemic Amazon saw a boom in sales, but has since experienced a downturn as advertisers and customers tighten their belts. As a result, the company made cuts to its devices and services team (which develops products such as the Alexa, Echo smart speaker and Kindle e-readers) last November. Just last week, it announced plans to eliminate 18,000 roles from its consumer retail business and its human resources division – the largest layoffs in Amazon’s history.

An Amazon spokesperson said: “We’re always evaluating our network to make sure it fits our business needs and to improve the experience for our employees and customers. As part of that effort, we may close older sites, enhance existing facilities, or open new sites, and we’ve launched a consultation on the proposed closure of three fulfilment centres in 2023. We also plan to open two new fulfilment centres creating 2,500 new jobs over the next three years.  All employees affected by site closure consultations will be offered the opportunity to transfer to other facilities, and we remain committed to our customers, employees, and communities across the UK.”