2,500 festive jobs up for grabs at Amazon's Staffordshire warehouse

Bosses are aiming to hire more than 2,500 seasonal workers who will join 1,800 permanent employees at the Amazon Rugeley fulfilment centre to help pick, pack and ship customers’ festive orders.

Seasonal workers will be tasked with sorting stock in the vast warehouse in Wheelhouse Road and dispatching items to Amazon’s millions of customers across the country.

Recruitment

Amazon’s Christmas recruitment campaign will see more than 20,000 people up and down the UK taken on, however the number being taken on in Rugeley is a drop from last year, when 4,000 workers where taken on.

Scott Wharton, general manager at the Rugeley fulfilment centre, said: “We look forward to welcoming more than 2,500 seasonal workers at Rugeley 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.” Pay rates for seasonal staff with Amazon through its agency partners start at £7.65 an hour at the Rugeley site. The online retailer is anticipating its biggest Christmas period ever and is also expecting a busy ‘Black Friday’, where thousands of items are sold to customers online for a heavy discount.

Councillor Alan Dudson, chairman of Cannock Chase District Council and a Rugeley resident, said he was ‘delighted’ with the jobs boost. He said: “The support for jobs in our community is always hugely welcomed and I am delighted to see that Amazon are contributing to increasing employment in Staffordshire.”