Amazon have delivered a pre-Christmas present by creating hundreds of seasonal jobs at its Fife site.
The online retail giant says a significant proportion of the 19,000 part-time roles being created across the UK ahead of the festive season will be at its Dunfermline fulfilment centre.
And the company has hinted that a large number of those workers could be given permanent jobs once their festive contracts have been completed and reviewed.
No exact figures in terms of Fife-based jobs have been divulged by the company, but sources close to Amazon said “hundreds” of posts would be located in Dunfermline as it is the company’s largest single site in the UK.
The Fife warehouse, which covers the equivalent of more than 14 football pitches, is one of eight fulfilment centres across the UK preparing for what could be one of the busiest run-ups to Christmas ever for the company given the growing trends in online shopping.
To that end, Amazon said it is in the process of hiring 19,000 people at fulfilment and customer service centres across the UK around 6,000 more than it took on this time last year.
“We are 100% focused on providing an exceptional customer experience and, to ensure that we maintain this high level of service during the Christmas period, thousands of seasonal associates will join our teams across the UK,” said John Tagawa, Amazon’s vice-president of UK operations.
“There are many people who take up seasonal roles each and every Christmas.
“We look forward to welcoming them back as well as the many new faces who will join us for the first time.”
Amazon has created 700 permanent roles in its UK fulfilment centres so far this year and now employs more than 7,800 people nationwide.
The company has come in for criticism over working practices in recent years, but Mr Tagawa insisted Amazon is an attractive employer to work for.
He continued: “We have created thousands of permanent roles with competitive wages and great benefits in our fulfilment centres in the last five years and everyone who took up those roles joined us, initially, on a temporary basis.
“As we continue to expand our operations in the UK, we are confident that hundreds of people who join us this Christmas in a seasonal role will have the chance to stay on with us on a permanent basis.”