back to article Amazon UK: We're hiring 3,000 Xmas temps? Make that 10,000

Amazon UK has tripled the number of temp box packers it will hire in the Christmas run-up: 10,000 short-term packaging jobs will now be created at the company's UK shipment centres. Amazon has eight so-called fulfilment centres in Rugeley, Hemel Hempstead, Milton Keynes, Doncaster, Peterborough, Dunfermline, Inverclyde and …

COMMENTS

This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Let's hope G4S aren't contracted to provide the 10,000 extra staff ....

  2. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    So Called Fulfillment Centres

    Which explains why items from a single order are now delivered throught the day by every courier on the planet.

    Where you only had to wait in for one delivery now you have to wait the whole day for Royal Mail, City Link, HDNL, Yodel etc to deliver the bits of your order.

    I don't understand how that can make economic sense, apart from it being a royal pain in the arse.

    1. Alan 6

      Re: So Called Fulfillment Centres

      It can be difficult to understand until you realise that a) not everything sold by Amazon is shipped from an Amazon warehouse, sometimes they come direct from manufacturer, or from a third party, and b) they can't possibly have all goods in all warehouses all the time, they'll have a mix of stock throughout their warehouses. If what you want isn't all in the same place they'll batch as much as possible then ship the balance of your items from whichever warehouse has the most stock...

    2. HP Cynic

      Re: So Called Fulfillment Centres

      The scourge of internet shopping: we no longer have to get off our asses to shop and barely have to move to receive the goods so the hassle of waiting for couriers becomes the focus.

      We just need 3D Printers for everything and then we'll only have to worry about earning the money and refilling the raw material vats :)

      1. Robert Grant

        Re: So Called Fulfillment Centres

        100% agree - that'll be the day! Then the only people making any money will be:

        1) Raw material miners and movers

        2) 3d printer manufacturers

        3) Software developers

        4) 3d printing designers

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: So Called Fulfillment Centres

          "4) 3d printing designers"

          Not bloody likely. I'm sure the freetards will find a way to justify not paying a thing.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: So Called Fulfillment Centres

      Only if you go for the El Cheapo option of free delivery this happens. If you choose the "I want it before 9:30" option or the "I want everything in one go", you will find you end up with multiple parcels from the same courier before that time.

  3. ElNumbre
    Stop

    Intelligence Test?

    So, maybe I'm being a bit of a dime-bar, but I'm looking on behalf of the better half. But you click through to the careers website and choose the centre (Rugeley in this instance) and there just isn't anything for box filling droids.

    Given that its already October and the Winterval festivities are but around the corner, they're going to have to get a wiggle on. I'm assuming they get more than an hours training?

    1. Amazon Wageslave
      Trollface

      Re: Intelligence Test?

      God, if we had intelligence tests for staff every single Amazon site would be empty. ;) The temp jobs will be advertised though an agency. They'll be ads in the local paper and Job Centre.

      And as for the comment above re: G4S, if only Amazon HR could organise things as smoothly as G4S. They're the living embodiment of the old line from Dilbert: "You can't spell "who cares" without HR".

    2. Marky65

      Re: Intelligence Test?

      ElNumbre - if you look under their EU Operations Jobs on the careers page it will take you here http://www.amazon-operations.co.uk/seasonal-job-opportunities

      1. ElNumbre
        Thumb Up

        Re: Intelligence Test?

        Thanks Marky - its almost like they don't want to promote it ;)

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Intelligence Test?

      Looks like standard robot work, fixed toilet breaks, tag in and out, employers running flexible hours to avoid any overtime, working 6 days a week for £6.30ph.

      Merry Christmas everyone!

      Warehouse Operative

      From £6.30 to £6.30 per hour Overtime available paid at time and a half

      The job is temporary we need people to be available for work from October to December.

      The jobs:

      Inbound; Counting & Receiving, Stowing and dock

      Outbound; Order Picking with Scanners, packing and Loading

      General Shift pattern: 7.00 - 15.00, 15.00 - 23.00. Shifts ALWAYS include at least one weekend day so please do not apply if this is an issue. We need everyone to be ready to work 6 days a week during busy period.

      Pay rate: £6.30

      Culture: this is high pace and quick changing environment, there are KPIs in place, everyone is subject to deadlines and performance, permanent and temp workers are monitored at all times, strict start / finish and break times in place.

      You need the following to register: valid passport or long version of Birth Certificate, proof of your NINo, your own bank details, employment history (we need to obtain references for you).

      Registration consists of the following: Interview, Basic Amazon test, filling Application Pack, group activity and 1:1s. If you are happy with all the above please apply via email and attach CV.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Any chance of a significant increase in the taxes they pay?

    Amazon is one of the many international companies that leach off our infrastructure without contributing much to the UK, other than the salaries of its despatch staff. In the UK it's just a despatch company, the core company is in Luxembourg. I know it's legal, but but it still grates.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Any chance of a significant increase in the taxes they pay?

      I don't get what the previous poster is bitching about. I'm pretty sure Amazon pay their fair share of taxes, including Road Tax, and rates for the infrastructure they use, not to mention the income tax their 10000 extra employees pay, and the VAT when they spend their salary. Add that to the 10k additional jobs they're creating, and I have no idea what exactly the problem is supposed to be.

      Finally if there was to be an increase in the tax paid by Amazon, why would it be to the UK? It is just a distribution centre. The company is headquartered in Luxemburg, and your order, and visiting of Amazons website goes through Amazons own IT infrastructure ( which they pay for ) in Ireland. If Amazon were to pay extra tax, then surely it would be to Ireland or Luxemburg.

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: Any chance of a significant increase in the taxes they pay?

        >why would it be to the UK

        Because they expect to hire UK workers who can read and write, from schools funded by UK tax payers.

        They expect those workers to get free medical care, rather than having to pay $1000/month as they do for their workers in the US.

        They expect UK police to guard their premises. They expect the UK's armed forces to stop bands of guerrilla pirates sweeping out of the hills and raiding their stores (not applicable in Scotland)

        They expect roads and streeet signs and other infrastructure to deliver their goods.

        As I explained to the man that wanted to collect the council tax - I may live in this house but I'm legally incorporated in Narnia. So unless you send a talking lion around I'm not paying

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Any chance of a significant increase in the taxes they pay?

          dear oh dear, where do I start......

          "Because they expect to hire UK workers who can read and write, from schools funded by UK tax payers."

          as opposed to hiring UK workers that got their education from where? More likely they they will employ a bunch of migrant European workers that pay as little as they can into the UK economy, send the wages back home to Poland or Czech rep. further depriving the UK economy,

          "They expect those workers to get free medical care, rather than having to pay $1000/month as they do for their workers in the US."

          what a crock of shit...... you cant compare how things are done in one country to another. their is far to many variables. you think that an international company should pay for private medical care for all of its workers throughout the world, just because that’s the accepted practice in one of them. Its an established practice that in the UK the whole workforce relies on the NHS for healthcare unless you pay into a private medical service....

          "They expect UK police to guard their premises."

          no they don’t. They expect the local police force to investigate any break-ins or robberies etc, but they will have to employ or contract private security to guard the premises... like every other company in the UK.

          "They expect the UK's armed forces to stop bands of guerrilla pirates sweeping out of the hills and raiding their stores (not applicable in Scotland)"

          I presume you are just being facetious here... I expect the whole of the uk to be guarded by the armed forces (including Scotland) against marauding invaders to our sovereign soil...

          "They expect roads and streeet signs and other infrastructure to deliver their goods."

          I presume the cost of deliveries that they pay contractors to deliver goods for them covers what the couriers have to pay in road fund licence and other taxes like everyone else does that uses the roads to cover the cost of maintain the roads...

          "As I explained to the man that wanted to collect the council tax - I may live in this house but I'm legally incorporated in Narnia. So unless you send a talking lion around I'm not paying"

          Narnia? talking lions? and along with the rest of your drivel... it makes me wonder if you are allowed to handle anything sharper than a box of crayon....

          1. earl grey
            Devil

            Re: Any chance of a significant increase in the taxes they pay?

            And furthermore, since 'es a monkey's behind, 'e doesn't get the box with the sharpener.

          2. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

            Re: Any chance of a significant increase in the taxes they pay?

            If they were doing business in a place with no functioning government -eg Somalia - their cost of business would be higher.

            They work in the UK, they benefit directly and indirectly from a lot of UK government services and they pay nothing toward that because of an accounting trick.

            If they are allowed to opt out of paying for things they don't directly use - why can't I?

            I don't have kids so I shouldn't pay for schools, I don't live in London so I shouldn't pay for the M25, the tube, or the olympics, the USSR has never attacked me so I don't want to pay for Trident, I don't vote tory so I shouldn't pay for any duck islands or moat cleaning etc etc

            By your arguments I should only pay road tax and for the bins collecting.

        2. Throatwobbler Mangrove

          Re: Any chance of a significant increase in the taxes they pay?

          "They expect those workers to get free medical care, rather than having to pay $1000/month as they do for their workers in the US."

          You're having a giraffe - minimum wage temp box-stuffing jobs in the US don't come with healthcare benefits.

          http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/economy/employment/2010-11-26-amazon-temporary-workers_N.htm

    2. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: Any chance of a significant increase in the taxes they pay?

      All these extra jobs are a cost to Amazon, so they will make a bigger "loss" in the UK and probably get a tax rebate.

  5. TopOnePercent
    FAIL

    Amazon are useless these days

    Amazon are totally hopeless these days. Every physical item I've ordered for the last year has been delivered to a variety of wrong addresses, if they have been delivered at all. Their executive team don't have any answers beyond the usual and meaningless investigations... lessons learnt... do better blah blah. As a result I've simply stopped using the company for anything other than eBooks (Mrs bought me a Kindle last year).

    I even tried explaining to them that my local pizza delivery outfit has nothing more advanced than a minimum wage delivery guy, an A-Z, and a clapped out Honda 125 - and they deliver to my house on time every time. Amazon has one of the most high tech facilities in the home counties 20 minutes from where I live, yet they couldn't deliver if their lives depended on it.

    Its sad really, they used to be a good company several years ago. As they're just a brand with a website and a logistics arm, they really should be more careful about tarnishing their brand so much.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: Amazon are useless these days

      To be fair amazon do stock a slightly larger range than your local pizza place.

      Ask for a pizza topped with fresh peruvian elderberries and smoked Coelacanth and they might take more than 30mins.

      In New York they were doing 30min cycle messenger delivery for in-stock items. So if you ordered the new Dan Brown novel they would have somebody in lycra come round and slap you quicker than you could walk to the shops.

      1. earl grey
        Happy

        Re: Amazon are useless these days

        smoked Coelacanth

        Is that anything like smoked bacon? mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

      2. TopOnePercent
        Thumb Down

        Re: Amazon are useless these days

        That's just the point though - my local Pizza place doesn't promise what it can't deliver and doesn't offer what it cannot stock. They won't try to sell me a chateaubriand and expensive merlot because that is not what they do well.

        The distance from my house that they tried to deliver the last in-stock item I ordered was almost 100 miles. They tried three times, and the laughable thing is their distibution depot the item would have left means it had to pass my houese on its way to where they were trying to take it.

        I've genuinely started wondering how their executive team manage to dress themselves and arrive at work. Thankfully, they're not tasked with anything more important than widget delivery, so when the whole company eventually disappears up its own arse, the consequences for most of us will be a net positive.

  6. Arctic fox
    Trollface

    " fulfilment centres"

    They're opening brothels now?

This topic is closed for new posts.