Amazon is closing three UK warehouses this year, a move that will affect 1,200 staff, as the internet retail giant slashes costs following a drop in consumer spending.
The closures at fulfillment centers in Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, Doncaster in South Yorkshire, and Gourock in Scotland were announced on Tuesday, a week after the tech giant said it would cut more than 18,000 staff from the company’s workforce, mainly from e-commerce and human resources. division of resources.
Chief executive Andy Jassy said last week that the job cuts were part of a plan to deal with “uncertain and difficult” economic conditions.
Amazon hired more staff during the pandemic to meet increased demand from locked-down consumers, but was forced to scale back due to consumer spending spree caused by high inflation. Amazon’s stock price is down nearly 50 percent in 2022.
Workers affected by the UK warehouse closures will be offered alternative roles at nearby Amazon sites or retraining opportunities. It is expected that many workers will lose their jobs at the company, especially with 300 workers in Gourock a long way from alternative sites.
The company said it also plans to open two new fulfillment centers in Peddimore, in the West Midlands, and Stockton-on-Tees, in County Durham, creating 2,500 jobs over the next three years. He added that the closure of the Amazon site was part of a regular evaluation of the network.
“All employees affected by the site closure consultation will be given the opportunity to transfer to other facilities, and we remain committed to our customers, employees and communities across the UK,” the company added.
Amazon’s warehouses are often the biggest employers in UK cities, meaning their closures will damage local economies.
The closure of the Gourock distribution center in a part of Scotland with high unemployment, depopulation and economic decline is “devastating”, said Neil Bibby, Scottish Labor MSP for West Scotland, who asked the delegated government in Edinburgh to announce that the US technology group has received government funding.
“We know Amazon has benefited from significant public funding in the past and [it] it is disappointing that he has decided to up and leave the community that has served him so well,” Bibby said.
The Scottish Government said the decision was disappointing and state business agency Scottish Enterprise was “in active discussions with companies to better understand the issue”.
Steve Garelick, a GMB Union organizer described the company’s move as “a real kick in the teeth for Amazon staff who work on the ground during the festive rush”. He added: “Hard-up Amazon workers cannot be expected to suddenly up and move to different fulfillment centers that may be too far away.”
Before Christmas, Amazon cut several thousand roles in its Devices and Books business, including the team behind the Alexa voice assistant and the Kindle ereader.
It has also delayed the start date for some university graduates by up to six months due to joining companies in May, blaming the “macroeconomic environment”.
Other tech groups, including Snap and Meta, have also sought to cut costs by laying off staff in recent months, while Twitter cut many UK jobs as part of a shake-up of the company under new owner Elon Musk. US software company Salesforce followed suit last Wednesday, announcing plans to cut 10 percent of its nearly 80,000 workforce.
Additional reporting by Lukanyo Mnyanda in Edinburgh