Date Published: 23/03/2021
ARCHIVED - Amazon recruiting staff for second high-tech distribution centre alongside Corvera airport
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
This will be the fourth automated Amazon logistics centre in Spain as online shopping changes the face of commerce
Online shopping is one of the few sectors of the global economy which can be said to have benefitted from the coronavirus pandemic, and in the Region of Murcia this is very visibly reflected in the new logistics centre operated by Amazon alongside the airport in Corvera.
The company’s first logistics centre next to the A-30 motorway opened last year, and now it has been announced that the company will be opening a second fully automated high-tech centre which will be located just 200 metres from the first one built. Recruitment has already begun (www.amazon.jobs/en/locations/murcia-spain).
While adequate staff are crucial to the success of the new centre, though, a lot of the work will be performed by the advanced technology of Amazon Robotics. The plant will have a floor area of over 160,000 square metres and will be the fourth of its kind to be built by Amazon in Spain, following those in El Prat and Barberá del Vallés (both in the province of Barcelona) and Dos Hermanas (Sevilla). It will be used to store, prepare and manage products, supporting Amazon’s operations not only in Spain but also in the whole of Europe.
The roles to be filled at the new facility include those related to engineering, maintenance, logistics, information technology and many others, and when it is up and running it is expected to contribute to a continuation of the company’s growth in Spain. Already over 9,000 small and medium-sized companies sell through Amazon in this country, achieving export revenue of more than 450 million euros in 2019, and among them are over 200 in the Region of Murcia whose export sales reached over 10 million euros.
Amazon first arrived in Spain with the opening of the logistical hub in San Fernando de Henares (Madrid) in 2012, since when others have been added in El Prat (Barcelona), Martorelles (Barcelona), Castellbisbal (Barcelona), Illescas (Toledo), Dos Hermanas (Sevilla) and Alcalá de Henares (Madrid). There are also three more urban logistics centres in Madrid and Barcelona, providing rapid Prime Now and Amazon Fresh deliveries, two distribution centres in Getafe (Madrid) and Barberá del Vallés (Barcelona) and 16 smaller logistical bases throughout the country, a figure which is still increasing and will be boosted by the opening of a facility which is planned to come into operation this summer in Alicante.
Between 2011 and 2018 the company invested 2,900 million euros in this country, a figure which includes not only infrastructures but also delivery costs and salaries, and in 2020 alone a further 5,000 staff took the total permanent workforce in Spain up to 12,000. On top of this, 7,000 more people were contracted to support the company’s operations over the Christmas and New Year period.