Amazon opens £500m fulfilment centre in Leeds

Amazon has officially opened a £500m “state-of-the-art” fulfilment centre at Gateway45 in Leeds, which will employ more than 2,000 people by November this year. 

The group has already begun recruiting for a wide range of roles, including engineers, HR, IT specialists, health and safety, and finance specialists.

This is in addition to the team members who pick, pack and ship customer items.

Gateway45’s new Amazon fulfilment centre is part of the group’s more than £1.5bn investment in West Yorkshire since 2010.  

According to the group, this latest generation fulfilment centre uses “advanced” technology across three floors of Amazon Robotics to stow, pick and ship customer orders. 

Energy efficiency is also a “top priority” in the operation of the new fulfilment centre, as it features solar panels to reduce unnecessary energy consumption. 

The building is located in close proximity to an Amazon delivery station and an Amazon Robotics sortation centre, and less than 10 miles from the Wakefield fulfilment centre which started operations in October 2022.

Richard Thompson, regional director at Amazon, said: “West Yorkshire is an important region for Amazon, with more than 3,800 small- and medium-sized enterprise selling partners, and I am delighted to confirm our ongoing commitment with this £500m investment in a new, state-of-the-art fulfilment centre in Leeds. 

“Amazon continues to invest in our buildings and innovative technology to provide our people with some of the most advanced workplaces of their kind in the world, ensuring their wellbeing while delivering for our customers.”