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Amazon has revealed plans to close its Milton Keynes fulfilment centre, marking the proposed shutdown of the first warehouse it opened in the UK.
The ecommerce company said it had begun a consultation on closing the site, which has operated since 1998, affecting 590 employees. Staff would be offered transfers to other Amazon locations or to a new £500m fulfilment centre in Northampton, due to open in May.
Amazon said its separate sortation centre in Milton Keynes, which employs about 1,100 people, would not be affected by the proposal.
The Northampton site is expected to employ up to 2,000 people once fully operational, as Amazon continues to reshape its UK logistics network.
An Amazon spokesperson said: “Today we’ve announced a consultation on a proposal to close our fulfilment centre in Milton Keynes and to offer employees an opportunity to transfer to our brand-new site in Northampton – a larger, state-of-the-art building which will employ up to 2,000 people – or to other Amazon sites.
“Our top priority is to support our people during this process.”
The proposed closure comes amid wider investment by Amazon in the UK. In June, the company pledged to invest £40bn over the next three years as part of plans to expand its operations.
Amazon has also said it will build two large fulfilment centres in the East Midlands, which are due to open in 2027, as it continues to add capacity to its delivery network.
