First Minister Alex Salmond with Lena Wilson, Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise and Allan Lyall, Amazon’s Vice-President of European operations and customer service.
FIRST Minister Alex Salmond has announced that Amazon is creating 900 jobs in Edinburgh.
The online retailer is launching a new customer service centre creating 500 permanent jobs and 400 temporary jobs.
The First Minister held his wife as one of the reasons Amazon had decided to expand in Scotland.
He said:
“I’m a Kindle fan and I think that Mrs Salmond is probably one of the key retail reasons Amazon are located in Scotland.
“They have obviously been isolating their most prolific customers and they have isolated Mrs Salmond. She is a one woman retail revolution “
The new centre at Waverley Gate in Edinburgh joins other Amazon centres in Dunfermline and Gourock, Inverclyde which were announced in January and are to create 950 jobs between the sites.
The Scottish Enterprise has invested 1.8 million to train new staff and fit-out of the pre-existing premises in Edinburgh
The First Minister said:
“This news shows that the Scottish economy is on the road to recovery.
“Amazon is globally recognised as a leader in online retail and I am delighted that the company is expanding its Scottish operations wit the creation of a new customer services centre in Edinburgh.
“Amazon has a substantial presence in Scotland and this announcement is testament to the quality, strength and skills of its Scottish workforce.
“This announcement reinforces and supports our message that Scotland is an attractive and competitive destination for major global companies to invest and do business. “
The centre will open in August, a few months before Amazon reveals the one million square foot centre in Dunfermline, and recruitment begins today.
Allan Lyall, Amazon’s vice-president of European operations and customer service, said:
“As our business continues to grow and we move into new areas like grocery, sports and clothing, our customer services support needs to expand as well.
“Edinburgh is an outstanding location, providing us with access to a highly skilled workforce who will help us to achieve the high standards of customer service that shoppers at Amazon.co.uk expect. “
