Amazon now employing more than 1,000 people in Doncaster

Friday 1st December 2017, Doncaster, UK
Picture Shows Workers in the warehouseFriday 1st December 2017, Doncaster, UK
Picture Shows Workers in the warehouse
Friday 1st December 2017, Doncaster, UK Picture Shows Workers in the warehouse
The number of people Amazon employs in Doncaster has risen to more than 1,000 after it opened its third fulfilment centre in the town.

The online retail giant recently opened a one million square foot facility at the iPort development in the town, larger than 15 football pitches.

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In addition to the 1,000 full time members of staff a further 800 seasonal workers are currently employed by Amazon as it deals with the Black Friday/Christmas ordering rush.

Stuart Morgan, site leader, for Amazon in the area said that Amazon had selected Doncaster for the location of what it calls its “fulfilment centres” due to quality of the region’s infrastructure and workforce.

“The logistics network is a clear advantage for this area,” he said.

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“The road connections and motorways have enabled us to reach out from these locations and get those deliveries across the UK.

“But the thing that really means most for me as manager here is the people. I have worked for Amazon in Doncaster for three years now and what has always struck me is the quality of the local workforce and the people that we have employed. When we opened this building we had a small team that came from the existing Amazon locations but we had to hire additional people. The response we got from the advertising was overwhelming.

“And we have established a great team of people here.”

Friday 1st December 2017, Doncaster, UK
Picture Shows Stuart Morgan General ManagerFriday 1st December 2017, Doncaster, UK
Picture Shows Stuart Morgan General Manager
Friday 1st December 2017, Doncaster, UK Picture Shows Stuart Morgan General Manager

iPort is the largest of the three fulfilment centres it has in Doncaster, as well as a logistics hub.

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At present there are more than two million items across Amazon’s sites. Its Yorkshire operations are predominantly on large ticket items such as television sets and electronic equipment.

“One of the reasons that Amazon decided to build a new fulfilment centre in Doncaster was very much about increasing the range of different products for our customer and then being able to meet those orders.

“We have the larger types of products in this building.

Friday 1st December 2017, Doncaster, UK
Picture Shows Packers at Work in the Packing areaFriday 1st December 2017, Doncaster, UK
Picture Shows Packers at Work in the Packing area
Friday 1st December 2017, Doncaster, UK Picture Shows Packers at Work in the Packing area

“We have been working closely with Doncaster Council in terms of promoting the roles we have. I have a team of highly skilled engineers on site.”

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Mr Morgan said that much of the growth the retailer had seen in 2017 had come from the work it does with sellers outside of Amazon.

“We have seen big growth this year for our third party sellers, people using amazon as a market place for their own goods. These are small retailers using amazon as place they can fulfil their orders.”

In a reflection of Amazon’s rapidly evolving business model Mr Morgan draws a blank on what the firm is likely to expand into in the coming months and years.

Friday 1st December 2017, Doncaster, UK
Picture Shows Workers in the warehouseFriday 1st December 2017, Doncaster, UK
Picture Shows Workers in the warehouse
Friday 1st December 2017, Doncaster, UK Picture Shows Workers in the warehouse

“I don’t know where Amazon is going to go,” he laughs.

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“It is a really interesting place to work. But it is difficult to say at this point.

“What I can say is that we had Black Friday last month and so from actually cutting the ribbon 12 weeks later we were at Black Friday.

“Next year is going to be a really interesting year, we will continue to grow this building. And that is really where my focus is on.

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“My day-to-day role is to delight our customers and get our stuff out. We have hired hundreds across the Doncaster region for our peak Christmas period and we have been able to hire to our need.

“What we are seeing is people want to come and work for Amazon.”