Recruitment continues with 750 new permanent jobs and 1,500 temporary jobs being created

 

November 15, 2011:

15th November 2011 – Amazon will open its new 1 million sq ft fulfilment centre in Dunfermline today. It is Amazon's largest in the UK and will eventually create 750 new permanent jobs and up to 1,500 temporary jobs during the peak Christmas period.

Approximately the size of 14 football pitches, the centre will be officially opened by the First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond. Leader of Fife Council, Councillor Peter Grant will attend the event.

The First Minister will also visit Amazon's new customer service centre in Edinburgh and will present certificates to Amazon employees joining the company on a permanent basis. The new centre at Waverley Gate – which will create more than 900 new permanent and temporary jobs over the next five years – handles both internet and telephone customer queries for Amazon.co.uk including technical support for Amazon Kindle and MP3.

"We are delighted to open our largest UK fulfilment centre here in Dunfermline," said Allan Lyall, Vice President of European Operations at Amazon. "We aim to offer our customers the highest level of service and this centre will play an important role in the delivery of millions of items to customers all over the UK, Europe and the world."

"The talented workforce from our Glenrothes fulfilment centre is transferring to Dunfermline and bringing with them a wealth of experience and Amazon knowledge for the benefit of all our customers," continued Allan Lyall. "These experienced employees are being joined by a new, strong, local workforce with recruitment continuing over the Christmas period and into the New Year. We look forward to a successful future here in Dunfermline and would like to thank the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International for their commitment and cooperation at every stage."

Recruiting for over 1,000 permanent and temporary employees has already commenced including hundreds of temporary Associate roles and positions across many different areas from Operations and IT to HR and Engineering.

The First Minister said: "The opening of Amazon's fantastic new fulfilment centre in Dunfermline is a testament to their continued success as a world-leading online retailer and to the skills and abilities of the Scottish workforce that the company continues to recognise in its investment decisions. The Scottish Government, working with our enterprise agencies and with SDI, are determined to continue working with leading global companies such as Amazon to encourage them to invest and grow their business in Scotland, delivering jobs and supporting economic growth across the country.

"I'm also delighted to be able to meet staff both at the fulfilment centre and at the new Customer Services Centre in Edinburgh, to congratulate them on contributing to Amazon's continued success and its growing presence in Scotland."

Leader of Fife Council, Councillor Peter Grant said: "We are delighted to welcome Amazon to Fife and to see this massive fulfilment centre officially opened today. This is the biggest inward investment into Fife in a generation and we are extremely proud that Amazon has chosen Fife as the location to create 750 new jobs and even more during peak times. The decision is a tribute to the quality of the workforce at Amazon in Glenrothes and I welcome the fact that they will have the chance to take up jobs in the new centre. It proves that Fife is an ideal place to Live, Work, Visit and Invest.

"We look forward to forging a long lasting relationship with Amazon and hope that the positive benefits of having such a world class business on our doorstep will encourage other investors to come to Fife. I wish them every success in the future."

Crawford Gilles, chairman of Scottish Enterprise, which worked closely with the company to bring the new jobs to Scotland, said: "We know that our excellent skills base combined with a well-developed and supportive business environment, means Scotland is a highly attractive location for international investment. The decision by a truly global brand, like Amazon, to build its largest UK fulfilment centre in Dunfermline clearly demonstrates this.

"The new jobs will not only be of real benefit here in Fife, but also to the wider economy in Scotland. Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International look forward to continuing to work closely with Amazon to look at how we can continue to support their future growth plans."

The new centre has been built on development land alongside the M90 near to the junction with the A92. It will distribute a wide range of items to Amazon customers all over the UK, Europe and the world and will also provide extra capacity for an ever-increasing selection of products.

A new road leading from Sandpiper Drive to the Amazon fulfilment centre has been given the name ‘Amazon Way’. The centre will be serviced by two new bus services – 72A and 72C – recently introduced by Stagecoach.

Anyone interested in a permanent role at the new centre should visit www.amazon.co.uk/careers. Temporary roles will be listed on the Opportunities Fife website: www.opportunitiesfife.org and are also available at any of the following local recruitment agencies: Blue Arrow, Brightwork Ltd, Brook Street, Industrious People, Transline-Resource and Job Centre Plus.

Amazon now has seven fulfilment centres in the UK: Dunfermline and Gourock in Scotland; Swansea Bay in Wales; and Marston Gate, Peterborough, Doncaster and Rugeley in England.

The new Amazon customer service centre is situated at Waverley Gate along with an Amazon software development centre, responsible for devising, creating and developing major features for Amazon customers worldwide.

"Scotland has been a fantastic location for a number of Amazon fulfilment centres over the years, so when we needed a home for our new customer service centre, Edinburgh was top of the list," said Allan Lyall. "With the new fulfilment centre and customer services centre in place, we look forward to a busy Christmas period and providing our customers with low prices, vast selection and a high level of convenience."

Anyone interested at a role at the new Amazon customer service centre should contact one of the following agencies: Expect Talent (www.expect-talent.com), FPSG Connect (www.fpsgconnect.co.uk) or Search (www.search.co.uk).

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For further information please contact the Amazon.co.uk Ltd press office on 020 8636 9280.

About Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.co.uk opened its virtual doors in October 1998 and strives to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavours to offer its customers the lowest possible prices.

Amazon.co.uk and other sellers offer millions of new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Baby, Books, Car and Motorbike, Clothing, DIY and Tools, DVD, Electronics and Photo, Grocery, Health and Beauty, Home and Garden, Jewellery, MP3, Music, Musical Instruments and DJ, Office, PC, Pet Supplies, Shoes, Software, Sports and Leisure, Toys and Games, Video Games and Watches.

The all-new Kindle is the lightest, most compact Kindle ever. The all-new Kindle, Kindle Keyboard 3G with free 3G Wireless and Kindle Keyboard Wi-Fi are the revolutionary portable readers that wirelessly download books, magazines, newspapers, blogs and personal documents to a 6-inch, advanced electronic ink display that reads like real paper even in bright sunlight. Kindle is the #1 bestselling product across the millions of items sold on Amazon.co.uk.

Amazon Web Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business.

Amazon.co.uk is a trading name for Amazon EU S.a.r.l, Amazon Services Europe S.a.r.l and Amazon Media EU S.a.r.l. All three are wholly owned subsidiaries of global online retailer Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), located in Seattle, Washington.

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.cn, www.amazon.it, and www.amazon.es. As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.