Warehouse closures announced by Amazon will have no impact on operations in East Yorkshire.
The online giant is behind a brand new ‘last mile’ facility at Melton, with proposals for a much larger fulfilment centre in the immediate area also strongly speculated. Concerns were raised after it announced three closures, with older operations being merged into newer ones. Seven small delivery stations are also to be consolidated.
The closest will see a site in Doncaster’s Balby Carr Bank absorbed by the huge distribution sites at iPort, just off the M18. A total of 400 jobs will be transferred.
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A spokesperson for Amazon 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.”
Peddimore in the West Midlands, and Stockton-on-Tees, have been announced as the new significant sites, with Hemel Hempstead and Gourock, west of Scotland, joining the original Doncaster site as being in consultation for closure.
New delivery stations will also open in Havant and Aylesford, replacing older sites in Portsmouth and Aylesford, with employees transferring. A further five delivery stations in Huntingdon, Horley, Newcastle, Birmingham and Hemel Hempstead will also close, with further transfers.
Around 500 employees at Hemel Hempstead will be offered roles at Amazon’s Dunstable fulfilment centre and other locations in the area under the proposal.
A total of 300 employees in Gourock will also have the opportunity to relocate to another Amazon site, in addition to a wide range of retraining and reskilling opportunities should they decide to pursue a career outside Amazon. A total of 1,200 jobs, with location share not identified, are at risk.
Amazon has pledged to update as the projects’ progress, including hiring plans ahead of the launches.
A total of 70 jobs were created last summer with the Melton site, with hundreds of drivers supporting, from the 10,000 sq m site, in what was a £30 million investment on the Wykeland-owned business park.
There has been intense speculation a neighbouring £150 million consented approval will also be for Amazon, with 1,300 jobs touted. A 52,000 sq m site was approved in December 2021.
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