Amazon is hiring 7,000 new permanent staff in the UK after sales surged during the pandemic

• Amazon will add 7,000 new permanent jobs in the UK by the end of 2020, it said. These include warehouse, engineering, and IT roles.
• The new hires will bring its total UK workforce to 40,000
• The jobs will be spread across more than 50 sites, and 2,000 will be at two UK distribution centres set to open in the fall.
• Amazon's global sales jumped 40% between April and June as people shopped online during the pandemic.

Amazon will create 7,000 new permanent jobs in the UK thanks to a surge in orders, the e-commerce giant announced on Thursday.

The new roles include warehouse workers and engineers as well as specialists in HR, IT, health and safety, and finance, the company said. Some of the jobs will go to temporary staff recruited during the pandemic to cope with rising demand.

Amazon reported a 40% increase in global net sales between April and June compared to the same period in 2019. It went on a hiring spree in the US soon after the pandemic hit.

The new jobs come on top of the 3,000 new permanent jobs the company added earlier this year, and bring its UK workforce to 40,000.

The jobs will be spread over more than 50 sites, including at two upcoming distribution centers in Durham and Nottinghamshire, which will open in the fall and create more than 1,000 jobs each. Amazon also opened a new distribution center in Darlington in May.

The company will also create more than 20,000 temporary seasonal positions across the UK over Christmas, it said.

UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma described the announcement as "a clear vote of confidence in the UK economy."

In July, Amazon announced plans to expand its grocery delivery service Amazon Fresh to more UK cities by the end of the year. During the pandemic, it more than halved its minimum grocery order value to £15 ($19.9) and removed its delivery fee in some areas around London.