Latest news: Amazon creates UK jobs

Online retail giant Amazon is to hire 900 staff in Scotland as part of its operations and customer services expansion. 08/06/2011 

The company will build a new customer service centre in Edinburgh, which will create 500 permanent roles and 400 temporary jobs. The facility will act as a hub for enquiries about Amazon’s ebook reader, the Kindle and will open in August.

‘As our business continues to grow and we move into new areas like grocery, sports and clothing, our customer services support needs to expand as well,’ said Allan Lyall, Amazon’s vice-president of European operations and customer service.

‘Edinburgh is an outstanding location, providing us with access to a highly-skilled workforce who will help us to achieve the high standards of customer service that our shoppers expect.’

The news comes as a further boost to Amazon’s profile in Scotland. The retailer announced in January plans to open a distribution centre in Dunfermline, which will create more than 750 jobs. The Dunfermline plant will be Amazon’s largest in the UK and is expected to open in late 2011.

More jobs were created through foreign investment last year in Scotland than any other part of the UK, according to a survey by Ernst & Young in May. More than 4,000 jobs were created from just 69 projects, compared with 3,229 roles from 289 projects in London.