Online retailer Amazon said on Wednesday it would open a customer support center in Edinburgh, Scotland to provide UK-based technical support for its market-leading Kindle e-reader device, creating 500 permanent and 400 temporary jobs. The center will also support customer service for MP3 sales and services.
Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, said the operation will also handle customer inquiries as it expands its product range. It will open in August, a few months before Amazon's new fulfillment center in Dunfermline, Scotland, reported Reuters.
Some 950 new jobs at the fulfillment center and also at Gourock, Scotland, were announced in January of this year.
“As our business continues to grow and we move into new areas like grocery, sports and clothing, our customer services support needs to expand as well,” said Allan Lyall, vice president of European operations and customer service for Amazon.
Amazon will reportedly receive a grant of £1.8m from Scottish Enterprise to help train new staff and equip the new Edinburgh center, reported the BBC. Amazon told the BBC it chose Edinburgh because of the financial support from the enterprise body and the availability of a high-quality workforce in the Scottish capital.
At the public announcement of the new jobs, Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, said, “Amazon has a substantial presence in Scotland and this announcement is testament to the quality, strength and skills of its Scottish workforce.” He added, “This announcement reinforces and supports our message that Scotland is an attractive and competitive destination for major global companies to invest and do business.”
Amazon introduced the Kindle electronic reader in 2007. Though the company does not reveal how many Kindle devices it has sold since the introduction of the popular e-reader, Amazon did reveal earlier this month it was now selling more electronic books than print books.