Amazon staff in Peterborough gear up for record-breaking Black Friday

About 1,500 extra people have been hired at the centre in Kingston Park, which has 1,000 permanent staff, to cope with an expected surge in online orders during the 10 day long sale.

Site manager Martin Cox (39) said at peak times today, staff could be handling 5,000 products a minute as customers made the most of the heavily discounted prices.

Last year, across Amazon’s centres, customers ordered more than 63,000 toys and 32,000 beauty products in the first six hours.

More than 400,000 home products were ordered in a single day.

Mr Cox, who joined Amazon three years ago, said: “This will be my first Black Friday running an Amazon fulfilment centre.

It is an exciting time and I’m really looking forward to it. I think it’ll be one of our best ever.”

The 500,000 sq ft Peterborough centre holds millions of products, which can be delivered across the country in just hours.

While this time of year can be hectic for staff, Amazon host a steady stream of fun and games to make the workplace a fun and enjoyable place.

Mr Cox said: “We spend a lot of time at work and we want it to be a pleasant and fun environment for staff.”

Expected best sellers this year for Amazon are e-readers to Nintendo Switch. Last year, the must-have products ranged from Amazon’s Fire TV Stick, David Walliams’ book Bad Dad to Finish Lemon Dishwasher Tablets.