Amazon: Lancashire jobs appear to have escaped cull by retail giant

News broke today (January 5) that the company is looking to shed 18,000 worldwide in a bid to cut costs.

The firm hasn’t revealed where the job losses will fall geographically, but have said that the majority of roles affected are in the Amazon Stores and People, Experience, and Technology (PXT) organisations.

Lancashire

Amazon came to Lancashire in 2015 when it moved into a vast warehouse complex in Lancashire Business Park in Centurion Way.

It is thought that there are 50 full-time jobs at the warehouse, and that Amazon has more than 200 Amazon drivers in the central Lancashire area.

When asked if Lancashire jobs will be affected, Amazon declined to answer directly, but responded to say that "the Leyland site is a delivery station so an operations site" - not an area highlighted as being affected.

The GMB union which represents Amazon workers told the Post that it wasn't aware of any Lancashire jobs affected by the announcement.

So what has the chief exec said?

Chief executive Andy Jassy said in a note to employees, which was made public: “These changes will help us pursue our long-term opportunities with a stronger cost structure.”

He blamed the move on an “uncertain economy”, adding “we’ve hired rapidly over the last several years”.

Mr Jassy also said the announcement had been brought forward after one of its employees leaked the details.

“We decided it was better to share this news earlier so you can hear the details directly from me,” Mr Jassy said.

The group expects to tell staff directly impacted by the cuts from January 18 and said it is offering a separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and job placement support.

He added: “Companies that last a long time go through different phases. They’re not in heavy people expansion mode every year.”

The group, which employs around 1.5 million people globally, had warned in November of job cuts without confirming a figure, but said it had found more roles would need to be axed as part of an in-depth review of its business.