Amazon has started shipping items to customers from its new fulfilment centre in Kirkby, creating 700 jobs.
The 636,000 sq ft centre at Dale Lane, Kirkby, which is Amazon’s first fulfilment centre in Merseyside, will hold millions of items to be picked, packed and shipped to customers across UK as well as the rest of Europe.
The centre has created a wide range of new roles, including engineers, HR and IT professionals through to health & safety and finance specialists and operations managers as well as employees who perform a crucial role of picking, packing and shipping customer orders.
The team celebrated the opening of the Knowsley site with a Beatles tribute band, games, dancing and giveaways to welcome new employees through the doors.
Hanier Maciel, who works in the inbound department, said: “I worked for Amazon previously and I am so happy to be back and working at this new amazing site. It’s a fun place to work and I am excited about the career opportunities Amazon can offer me.”
Lisa Saunders, who works as a trainer, said: “I started in April 2020 in a delivery station working in different departments. This made me want to learn more, so a move into the learning and development team in a fulfilment centre was the next exciting step. I have been able to work shifts around my family, while still growing my career, these aspects are very important to me.”
Amazon Knowsley General Manager, Tony Carr, said: “We are excited to have opened a new fulfilment centre in Knowsley, the first in Merseyside, creating 700 roles across a wide range of disciplines and offering competitive wages, excellent benefits and a modern, safe and engaging work environment from day one. The new fulfilment centre is a further sign of our commitment to the communities in which we operate and I am looking forward to the weeks and months ahead as we grow our team and deliver for our customers.”
Amazon provides competitive pay, excellent benefits and a modern, safe and engaging work environment for its employees. Pay starts at £10.50 per hour for all full-time, part-time, temporary, or seasonal roles. Employees are offered a comprehensive benefits package, including private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection, and an employee discount as well as a company pension plan.
Career opportunities
Amazon offers employees Career Choice, an innovative programme which pre-pays 95% of tuition for courses in high-demand fields, up to £8,000 over four years, regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon.
It is also investing £10 million over three years to train up to 5,000 employees in new skills and support the Government’s investment programme. This training will be offered through the Career Choice programme to help boost the skills and employability of British workers.
Amazon also provides opportunities to improve existing skills or learn new ones through internal career progression opportunities such as cross-training, transferring to a different department and promotion into a managerial role.
As part of Amazon’s commitment to be net-zero carbon across its business by 2040. The fulfilment centre will launch 100% electric, removing the use of fossil fuel combustibles (natural gas) and with energy efficiency as a top priority. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) is controlled by a building management system (BMS) that ensures a comfortable working environment for associates at the same time as reducing unnecessary energy consumption. LED lighting adjusts according to natural light availability and building occupancy, and indoor air quality is constantly monitored.
The building will be fitted with solar panels and employees have access to electric vehicle charging and bicycle storage.
Anyone can find out more about what it’s like to work at an Amazon fulfilment centre by signing up for a tour at uk.amazonfctours.com.
People interested in applying for jobs at Amazon should visit Amazon Jobs