Amazon to introduce new technology into UK operations

Online giant Amazon is planning to introduce new technology into its UK operations which it says will support safer ways of working.

The company, which recently announced it will create 10,000 jobs in 2021, said it will start using automated guided vehicles and robot sorters which have been developed at its European Operations Innovations Lab in Italy.

Unions have criticised safety at Amazon sites, but Stefano Perego, vice president of Amazon’s fulfilment centre operations in Europe, said: “We prioritise the safety of all our employees and are constantly looking for ways to further improve safety measures in our facilities.

“We want to become the safest place on earth to work – right across our business. That’s why we continue to invest in technologies and training for our people.”

Stefano La Rovere, head of EU advanced technology at Amazon, said: “We work closely with health and safety experts and scientists, conduct thousands of safety inspections each day in our buildings, and have made hundreds of changes as a result of employee feedback on how we can improve their wellbeing at work.”

Amazon said its new site in Doncaster will be the next area where new technology will be deployed later this year.

Dan Fell, chief executive of Doncaster Chamber of Commerce, said: “Through our partnership on fulfilment centre tours at the height of the pandemic, Amazon has demonstrated to members of the Doncaster Chamber of Commerce and others across the UK how people and technology can work hand-in-hand in the workplace to create a positive, and most importantly, a safe workplace for the benefit of both businesses and their employees.”

Published: 23/05/2021 by Radio NewsHub