Internet giant Amazon to create hundreds of jobs in Peterborough as staff get £500 'thank you' payment

Online retailing giant Amazon is to create hundreds of jobs in Peterborough ahead of Christmas.

The recruitment comes after the internet behemoth announced a special payment of up to £500 for its frontline staff as ‘thank you’ for their hard work and dedication.

Amazon is looking to recruit an unspecified number of operatives for its centres across Peterborough – with the number of extra recruits needed expected to run into the hundreds.

They will work across Amazon's trio of facilities in Peterborough, which include its main fulfilment hub at Kingston Park, which it already employs 1,000 people, a smaller facility in Orton Southgate, and a local delivery centre at Gateway Peterborough.

A spokesman for the retailer said: “We are recruiting for hundreds of roles at the Peterborough fulfilment centre and we’ll be looking to fill a variety of positions across the centre’s operation.”

Amazon is one of the country’s leading employers and its tens of thousands of hourly paid employees, which include full and part-time staff and seasonal workers, will benefit from £500 special payment that will be paid in two instalments - £250 this month and £250 in December.

An Amazon spokesperson “We appreciate the great work our teams do throughout the year, and are proud to offer competitive pay that starts at a minimum of between £10.50 and £11.45 per hour, depending on location, as well as comprehensive benefits that are worth thousands more—including private medical insurance, life assurance, subsidised meals and an employee discount, to name a few.

"On top of this, we’re pleased to have announced that every full-time, part-time and seasonal associate will receive an additional one-time special payment of up to £500 as an extra thank you.”

Amazon is just one of a number of companies that are looking to recruit extra staff is trading accelerates ahead of Christmas.

Retailers in the Queensgate shopping centre are collectively looking to find an extra 150 staff while the Royal Mail wants to hire 100 temporary staff at its Peterborough Mail Centre in Papyrus Road, Werrington.