Amazon to close Gourock distribution centre with loss of 300 jobs

The Gourock site is one of two distribution centres operated in Scotland by Amazon

Amazon has confirmed plans to close its distribution centre in Gourock, putting about 300 jobs at risk.

The online retail giant has launched a consultation with staff, but has yet to provide details of when the base will close.

The Inverclyde site is one of three fulfilment centres earmarked for closure in the UK.

It is understood that all workers at the sites will be offered roles at other Amazon locations.

The move comes a few days after Amazon announced plans to cut more than 18,000 jobs globally from its consumer retail business and human resources division, although it is understood the Gourock closure is separate from those plans.

• Amazon warehouse closures put 1,200 jobs at risk

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An Amazon spokeswoman said: "We're always evaluating our network to make sure it fits our business needs and to improve the experience for our employees and customers.

"As part of that effort, we may close older sites, enhance existing facilities, or open new sites, and we've launched a consultation on the proposed closure of three fulfilment centres in 2023.

"All employees affected by site closure consultations will be offered the opportunity to transfer to other facilities, and we remain committed to our customers, employees, and communities across the UK."

The company added that it also planned to open two new fulfilment centres in England, creating 2,500 new jobs over the next three years.

Business minister Ivan McKee told the Scottish Parliament he would be meeting representatives of Amazon on Wednesday to "further discuss and understand the decision".

He said the firm's Gourock site has received a total of £2.137m in financial support from the Scottish government, with the last payment made in 2011.

'Hammer blow'

Inverclyde MP Ronnie Cowan said he was seeking urgent talks with Amazon over its plans to close the Gourock warehouse.

The SNP MP tweeted: "It goes without saying that in the midst of a cost of living crisis this will come as a hammer blow to the staff and their families.

"Amazon has said it will try to redeploy workers but has so far given me no hard commitments."

Scottish Conservative MSP for West Scotland Jamie Greene said the potential closure would come as a huge blow to the workforce.

He added: "I have requested an urgent meeting with Amazon to see what can be done to either prevent closure or offer full support to the workforce."

Scottish Labour MSP for West Scotland Neil Bibby called the announcement "devastating".

He added: "This community has been battling depopulation and economic decline for many years and this represents a worrying setback."

'Very disappointing'

The Scottish government described the news as "very disappointing".

A spokeswoman said Scottish Enterprise was "in active discussion with the company to better understand the issues", adding that the government would "do everything in its power" to help those affected.

Amazon's only other Scottish fulfilment centre is based in Dunfermline.

Its operations in Scotland include a development centre in Edinburgh, as well as delivery stations in Motherwell, Baillieston, Dundee, Bathgate and Portlethen, and an Amazon Fresh distribution site in Glasgow.

Amazon is a work in progress, having displaced huge areas of conventional retail and with seemingly boundless ambition to keep growing, from groceries to television, film-making, cloud computing and beyond.

Not all its gambles pay off. For instance, taking over a posh Whole Foods supermarket in Giffnock, to the south of Glasgow, was a stretch for its supply lines.

When it moved into its Gourock "fulfilment centre" in 2004, it was the second such warehouse in the UK, after Milton Keynes. Back then, it had six in the US and one each in the UK, France, Germany and Japan. Turnover outside North America was less than $700m a year (£568m at today's rates).

Its reach was on a more modest scale, growing out of books, CDs and DVDs, and 20 years ago, it was expanding into electronics and toys.

By 2021, it had revenue of $1.29bn (£1.06bn) a day, or $480bn (£395bn). That growth has been built with a fierce discipline on efficiency and use of data, aiming to have the fastest distribution networks, and now it is increasingly automating its warehouse operations.

In 2023, it makes less logistical sense to be located at the end of the road through Greenock and along the Inverclyde seafront, requiring delivery trucks to trundle some distance off the motorway network and away from the main population centres.

While the other two British fulfilment centres being closed will no longer fulfil customers or local jobs, they are near other Amazon centres and numerous other English warehousing operations.

For the workforce in Inverclyde, it will be more difficult to transition into similar work - the nearest Amazon centre is near Dunfermline in Fife.

It may not feel like much consolation as Gourock closes, but turnover of staff at Amazon is particularly high. The labour market is tight and favours those searching for jobs. And although it has travelled a hard road since the decline of shipbuilding, Inverclyde has learned to adapt to economic and technological change.