The retail giant has begun to recruit to fill up to 1,000 vacancies at its new 1.5 million sq ft fulfillment centre at Symmetry Park site, Darlington. The deal, funded by Tritax, was agreed in June 2018.
The Darlington site will be followed by a second North East depot at Durham in a deal agreed in January 2019. The 2 million sq ft centre, developed by Cirturs, will open in summer 2020.
Amazon has also been recruiting at the 574,000 sq ft Altitude fulfillment centre Milton Keynes.
The total Amazon UK workforce is understood to be approaching 30,000, almost entirely in large customer fulfillment centres
However, the e-commerce business faces increasing pressure on its small-footprint last mile urban logistics business. Establishing an urban logistics network to meet its one-day delivery targets meant it overshot its spending target and suffered a 26% decline in profits in the third quarter of 2019, compared to the same period last year.
Total UK recruitment has slumped from a peak of 5,000 in 2017, according to press reports.
