Online retail giant Amazon has revealed plans to close its site in Rugeley as it announces when its huge new £500 million fulfilment centre in north Birmingham will open for business.
The company said operations would commence in October and it had started the process of recruiting to fill around 400 new roles.
It comes as it reveals the 12-year-old centre in Rugeley has been earmarked for closure. The company stressed all 1,000 employees would be offered jobs at the new plant on the Peddimore estate, south east of Sutton Coldfield, or at other Amazon sites.
A consultation will be held with staff affected by the proposed closure.
Amazon confirmed in January that it was opening a new warehouse at Peddimore after long being rumoured as the tenant which would occupy the vast warehouse which received planning consent in 2021.
Staffing levels are expected to grow from an initial 1,400 to 2,000 over the next three years.
The 547,000 sq ft fulfilment centre will have power-generating solar panels on its roof along with building management systems to reduce energy consumption.
Recruitment has started for a wide range of new roles including engineers, HR and IT professionals and finance specialists alongside the teams picking and packing the orders.
Staff perks include private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection, subsidised meals and an employee discount. There is also a programme called 'Career Choice' which provides funding for skills development through nationally recognised courses.
The retailer described the new Peddimore plant as "the latest generation fulfilment centre" which has three floors of robotics where products will be stowed and orders picked.
It will be the retailer's latest fulfilment centre in the West Midlands, said to be one of the most-advanced facilities of its type, adding to its base in Coventry which opened in 2018 and a delivery station in Minworth.
Regional director Neil Travis said: "The West Midlands is an important region for Amazon and I am delighted to confirm our commitment with this £500 million investment in a new state-of-the-art fulfilment centre in Sutton Coldfield.
"The new site will create 400 new jobs for this year, taking our total workforce in the West Midlands to more than 4,000 full and part-time roles, and our investment in the region to more than £3.2 billion since 2010.
"Amazon continues to invest in our buildings and innovative technology to provide our people with some of the most advanced workplaces of their kind in the world, ensuring their wellbeing while delivering for our customers."
The wider Peddimore estate is being constructed across four separate development zones which are expected to create millions of sq ft of commercial floorspace.
The project, on 175 acres of land next to the A38 and Peddimore Lane, has the potential to create up to 6,500 jobs and support a further 3,000 in the associated supply chain. Infrastructure work including a new roundabout on the A38 began in summer 2021.
