Peterborough job boost as Amazon offer 1,500 temporary Christmas roles

The internet shopping firm has a large warehouse in the city, and needs the workers to get the thousands of orders out over the next few months.

The 1,500 jobs in Peterborough are part of a 20,000 job nationwide recruitment scheme.

“We prepare year round for the festive season and we’re excited to have over 20,000 seasonal positions available this year to help delight our customers,” said Stefano Perego, Amazon’s Director of UK Customer Fulfilment. “We look forward to welcoming back seasonal workers who return year-after-year to work at Amazon and welcome new faces to the seasonal team.”

Martin Cox, Site Leader at Peterborough, said: “We look forward to welcoming 1,500 seasonal workers at Peterborough to play an integral role in helping us deliver an exceptional experience for our customers during the Christmas season. We plan all year round for the festive period and the increase in people at our site to provide a positive work environment with a series of fun events that can be enjoyed by everyone.”

Earlier this month, Amazon announced that from 1 November it is increasing its minimum wage to £10.50 for the London area and £9.50 for the rest of the UK for all full-time, part-time, temporary (including those hired by agencies), and seasonal workers to help pick, pack and ship customers’ festive orders.

Peterborough MP Fiona Onasanya, who has campaigned for better working conditions at Amazon, said: “Christmas is such a busy time of year for online retailers - so it is not surprising to hear that Amazon is bringing more temporary jobs to their warehouse in Peterborough over the coming months. I always welcome businesses bringing more jobs to our city, so it’s encouraging to hear that 1,500 vacancies will be coming our way.

“However, there are still concerns to be addressed about the work conditions reported in these Fulfilment Centers. These complaints must be taken seriously, as those simply trying to make ends meet over the winter months should not be subject to dangerous and exploitative work environments. Conditions and pay must always be fair, no matter how temporary or flexible the job may be - I hope Amazon take this into account during their recruitment drive.”

Further information about working at Amazon can be found at www.jobsatamazon.co.uk