Amazon, a major online retailer, has announced plans to close three warehouses in the UK, potentially jeopardising 1,200 employment.
The business did add that during the following three years, it intended to open two new centres and create 2,500 jobs.
The three warehouses that are closing are located in the west of Scotland at Gourock, Doncaster, and Hemel Hempstead.
The company stated that employees at the closing sites would have the option to transfer to other Amazon locations.
In an effort to slash expenses, Amazon said last week that it will be eliminating more than 18,000 employees globally, which would be a record for the company.
According to an Amazon spokeswoman, the decision to close the UK warehouses was reached following an analysis of the company’s operations in the nation and was “totally unrelated” to the larger reductions, which largely affect office workers.
Peddimore, West Midlands, and Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, were chosen as the locations for the new warehouses, which the company described as “state-of-the-art” robotic facilities.
“We’re always evaluating our network to make sure it fits our business needs and to improve the experience for our employees and customers,” the company said.
During the epidemic, Amazon, which debuted in the UK in 1998, saw fast growth.
Around 70,000 people are employed by it in the UK as of right now, including 400 in the Doncaster centre, 500 at Hemel Hempstead, and 300 at Gourock.
The company runs two other facilities in Doncaster and one in Dunstable, which is roughly 20 minutes’ drive from Hemel Hempstead. According to Amazon, these locations may be able to accommodate workers impacted by the closures.
The actions, according to Steve Garelick, a GMB union representative for Hemel Hempstead, are a “genuine kick in the teeth for Amazon personnel who worked themselves into the ground during the festive rush.”
Further away from their homes, he continued, jobs can be challenging for employees to accept.
Hard-working Amazon employees cannot be expected to abruptly uproot and move to a different fulfilment centre that may be located far away, he said.
Since the outbreak, Amazon has under under increasing pressure about workers’ rights.
The Coventry warehouse’s hundreds of employees decided last month to go on strike, which is thought to be the first time the business has done so in the UK. The strike, which is a result of a dispute over wages, is scheduled for January 25.
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