Amazon to create 4,500 jobs at Rugeley for Christmas rush

Bosses are looking to hire 4,500 workers for roles in the run-up to Christmas at its Fulfilment Centre in Rugeley, as part of its seasonal recruitment drive across the UK.

The centre currently employs around 1,500 permanent members of staff – meaning it is looking to recruit three times the size of its current workforce.

Amazon's seasonal recruitment campaign will see more than 20,000 people up and down the UK taken on.

According to latest figures, there are currently 2,085 residents across Cannock Chase, South Staffordshire and Stafford claiming unemployment benefits. This means Amazon could wipe out unemployment across all these areas, and still need to recruit some 2,500 more staff.

The online retailer is anticipating its biggest Christmas period ever and is confident of surpassing its Black Friday sales when last year Amazon.co.uk sold more than 7.4 million items – at a rate of around 86 items per second.

John Tagawa, Amazon's vice-president of UK Operations, said: "The thousands of seasonal associates who join us at this time each year play an integral role in helping us deliver an exceptional experience for our customers during the Christmas season.

"We look forward to welcoming back the people who join us each and every Christmas as well as many new faces who will be joining the Amazon team for the first time.

"As we continue to grow our network, there will be opportunities for people who join us in seasonal roles to transfer to permanent positions.

"I am delighted that more than 2,000 people who worked for Amazon in seasonal positions last Christmas are now in permanent roles."

Pay rates for seasonal staff start at £7.35 an hour at Rugeley Fulfilment Centre.

For permanent employees, the pay rate increases over their first two years of employment when all employees earn £8.15 an hour and above.

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