Amazon Delivers Large Jobs Package to Wales

It is Internet shopping business Amazon’s largest base in the United Kingdom.

Wales’s First Minister Rhodri Morgan recently toured the massive Amazon centre in Swansea Bay and said: “This is one of the biggest investments announced in Wales since devolution began nine years ago.”

“It is a powerful shot in the arm for the Welsh economy and the Swansea Bay area in particular. I am proud of the role that the Assembly Government has played in attracting Amazon to Wales,” he added.

Amazon boosting Wales’ economy

Iconic global company Amazon is right at the forefront of the e-economy.

It is one of only a handful of truly world brands that have emerged since the Internet changed the way we live our lives, alongside Google, eBay, AOL and, more recently, Facebook and MySpace.

Amazon is one of the fastest growing companies in the world, having been launched from the founder’s home in Seattle, United States, in 1995.

By 2006, global turnover was 10.76 billion US dollars, and it continues to grow by 25 per cent year-on-year.

It is a powerful shot in the arm for the Welsh economy and the Swansea Bay area

Rhodri Morgan

First Minister

Wales

Originally billing itself as the world’s largest bookstore, Amazon now also sells a vast range of goods including CDs, DVDs, electrical equipment and a range of items for the home.

New product categories are continually being introduced.

More jobs in Wales

Rhodri Morgan continued: “To have such a big name in e-commerce set up a major European base in Swansea Bay, bringing with it more than 1,000 permanent jobs and almost double that at peak seasons, is an outstanding achievement for Wales.

“Other e-economy companies will sit up and take notice of Amazon’s decision to opt for Wales and the impressive turn-around time from the initial approach to completion, and put us on their short list.”

“The speed of delivery of this project has been exceptional, taking just 16 months from initial approaches between Amazon and the Assembly Government to the opening of this mega-facility.”

“It is an absolutely text-book example of how to do regional economic development,” he added.

In that time the 13.3-hectare (33-acre) site has been cleared and prepared, a new access road and the reconfiguration of the existing road and roundabout completed, and the Amazon centre built and fitted out with state-of-the-art computerised systems.

The Assembly Government led on the overall process of attracting Amazon to Wales and in negotiating the grant package deal.

A spokesman said that partnership has been the key to this success and Team Wales looks forward to working closely with Amazon to ensure its continuing success and development in Wales.

[…] this project has been exceptional, taking just 16 months from initial approaches between Amazon and the Assembly Government to the opening of this mega-facility

Rhodri Morgan

First Minister

Wales

The Amazon centre lies halfway between the River Neath and the River Tawe in the middle of Ospreylia, in the Neath Port Talbot borough, east of Swansea.

The Swansea Bay facility is roughly the size of 10 football pitches and is the largest of Amazon’s four UK centres - the others being in Glenrothes and Gourock in Scotland and Milton Keynes in England.

Neath Port Talbot Borough Council led on infrastructure provision and planning.

Amazon will recruit more than 1,000 employees this year to fill a mixture of permanent and temporary roles.

Over the next five years the workforce will grow to 1,200 permanent and 1,500 temporary jobs.

They will all be based at the flagship centre that sends a range of items available from amazon.co.uk direct to the customer and also provides extra capacity for an ever-increasing selection of products.