Recruitment for hundreds of jobs begins at Amazon’s fourth UK fulfilment centre

April 16, 2008, London: Amazon.co.uk has announced its intention to recruit over 1,000 new employees before the end of the year at its new 800,000 sq ft fulfilment centre in Swansea Bay which opened today.

The new centre was officially unveiled at a ceremony attended by the First Minister of the Welsh Assembly Government, the Rt. Hon. Rhodri Morgan AM and the Leader of Neath Port Talbot Council, Councillor Derek Vaughan.

We are delighted to open our fourth UK fulfilment centre, here in Swansea Bay,’ said Allan Lyall, Vice President of European Operations at Amazon. ‘The great location and strong local workforce made Swansea the ideal venue for this site, and we look forward to the new centre playing an integral part in fulfilling our ever-increasing customer demand. Now that we are operational, our number one priority is recruitment, as we need to fill a high number of vacancies by October so that we are working at full steam when the Christmas period gets underway.’

Amazon.co.uk will recruit over 1,000 new employees this year to fill a mixture of permanent and temporary roles. They will be based at the centre, which distributes a wide range of items available from amazon.co.uk and also provides extra capacity for an ever-increasing selection of products.

Following a tour of the new facility – approximately the size of ten football pitches - the First Minister said the sheer scale of the operation was extremely impressive.

‘The speed of delivery of this project has also been exceptional – it has taken just sixteen months from the initial discussions between the Assembly Government and Amazon to the opening of this major new facility.

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

‘Partnership has been the key to this success and we look forward to working closely with Amazon to ensure their on-going success in Wales. It is an extremely important investment that the Assembly Government has supported with grant aid and will create thousands of new jobs that will offer a range of flexible working opportunities for people in the area.’

Recruitment begins immediately and any individuals interested in a position should visit the careers section on www.amazon.co.uk. Amazon.co.uk has entered into a Local Employment Partnership with Jobcentre Plus and the two companies will work closely throughout the recruitment process.

Jobcentre Plus District Manager Pam Sutton is delighted that they are the recruitment partner of choice for Amazon.co.uk. ‘The Local Employment Partnership agreement between the company and Jobcentre Plus will ensure access to a wide and diverse pool of Jobcentre Plus customers who are eager for work,’ she said. ‘We are doing a lot of work with our customers to ensure that they are ready for work and have the skills and attitude required for these quality jobs. We are committed to understanding Amazon.co.uk’s business so that we can work together for a long time to come. ‘

Amazon.co.uk plans to create a total of 1,200 permanent jobs and 1,500 temporary roles over the next five years at the new site.

For further information please contact the Amazon.co.uk press office on 020 8636 9280.

About Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.co.uk opened its virtual doors in October 1998, and strives to be the world's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online. Amazon.co.uk and sellers list millions of new and used items in categories such as Books, Music, Video, DVD, Software, PC & Video Games, Electronics & Photo, Home & Garden, and Toys & Games!. Through Amazon Marketplace, zShops and Auctions any business or individual can sell virtually anything to Amazon.co.uk's millions of customers. Amazon.co.uk customers enjoy the benefits of industry-leading online-shopping technology, such as secure credit-card payment, personalised recommendations, streamlined, 1-Click® ordering and hassle-free Bid-Click® auction bidding. Through Amazon Anywhere, Amazon.co.uk is also available on mobile phones with WAP technology--see www.amazon.co.uk/anywhere for details.

Amazon.com and its affiliates operate seven websites: www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.ca, and www.joyo.com.

As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Forward-looking Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to potential future losses, significant amount of indebtedness, competition, management of growth, potential fluctuations in operating results, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions, and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, international expansion, consumer trends, inventory, limited operating history, government regulation and taxation, fraud, and new business areas. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003, and all subsequent filings.