Amazon in Rugeley jobs boost ready for Christmas

Online retailer Amazon is taking on scores of workers at its distribution centre in Staffordshire in the build-up to the busy Christmas season.

And the company says it is on track to reach a 900-strong workforce by the end of the year. The retail giant opened its huge new centre at Towers Business Park, Rugeley, in September.

The firm said it had taken on a "significant" number of people in the past two months and would further increase staffing over the next few months.

Amazon has benefited hugely from the growing trend away from the high street into online shopping.

Company spokeswoman Fran Griffin said: "Employee numbers at our Rugeley centre have increased significantly over the last two months.

"We don't break out employment figures by site but I can confirm that we are on track to create the 900 permanent and temporary jobs by the end of the year. We will increase numbers of both permanent and temporary employees in the coming months as we ramp up towards the busy Christmas period."

Amazon took total orders for more than three million items nationally on its busiest day of the Christmas period on December 5 last year.

In February it announced sales had soared by 35 per cent in the previous three months. Profits were hit by a big outlay on its Kindle e-reader and on new sites such as the warehouse at Rugeley.