Amazon Rugeley centre to be replaced by £500m Sutton Coldfield scheme

Amazon has announced plans to close its Rugeley site and offer all affected staff jobs at its new Sutton Coldfield fulfilment centre.

The online retail giant will open its £500m Peddimore site in October which will employ 1,400 staff, increasing to 2,000 after three years.

All 1,000 employees at the closing Rugeley centre will be offered jobs at the Peddimore site or at other Amazon sites.

It is understood the warehouse will use robotics to help staff select products and increase productivity, with more staff being employed for jobs such as technicians and engineers.

The Rugeley closure adds to the list of closing fulfilment centres at Amazon, which impacted 1,200 jobs.

Sites in Doncaster, Hemel Hempstead and Gourock, in the west of Scotland, have been proposed for closure.

But a spokesman for the business said all the workers would be offered roles at other existing Amazon locations.