Amazon expands workforce in California, U.K.

The e-commerce giant will add 2,000 new full-time positions at two new California fulfillment centers and more than 5,000 jobs in the United Kingdom during 2017.    Amazon.com, Inc. looks set to continue its rapid workforce expansion in 2017.
   The e-commerce giant recently announced plans to open two new fulfillment centers in Eastvale and Redlands, Calif., creating more than 2,000 new full-time positions in the process.
   Workers at the 1 million-square-foot facility in Eastvale, which was developed by the Goodman Group, will handle smaller items such as books, electronics and toys. At the Redlands center, a 750,000-square-foot facility developed by Prologis, associates will pick, pack and ship larger items, such as sports equipment, patio furniture and pet food.
   Amazon currently has more than 15,000 full-time employees at its nine existing fulfillment centers in California. A third fulfillment center expected to open in 2017 is currently under construction in Sacramento, Calif.
   Meanwhile, the company also plans to create more than 5,000 jobs in the United Kingdom throughout the year, according to a report from Reuters news service.
   The expansion would be a record for Amazon in the U.K., and would increase the company’s permanent workforce in the country to 24,000 despite its referendum last year to leave the European Union. Reuters noted 2,000 of the 5,000 new positions had been announced previously.