Amazon open ‘fulfilment’ centre in Baldonnell

AMAZON has opened its long-promised distribution centre in Baldonnell, allowing the company to offer faster delivery times to Irish customers and bypass some of the restrictions and hurdles imposed by Brexit.

The company’s 58,529sq m “fulfilment centre” at Baldonnell Business Park, will serve customers across the island of Ireland and the rest of Europe, housing thousands of products.

The centre, which was set to open in spring of this year, is Amazon’s first order fulfilment centre in Ireland where products are picked and packaged by Amazon staff. It will also handle deliveries for Northern Ireland.

“We are delighted to have opened the doors of our first fulfilment centre in Dublin this week,” the company said in a statement. “We are focusing on welcoming our new team and preparing the site in readiness to start delivering to our customers across Ireland.”

The centre is expected to create up to 500 jobs, adding to the company’s presence here.

It already operates a delivery warehouse in Rathcoole for Amazon Prime customers.

The site is set to employ around 500 people and it’s understood that wages are set to start at €13.50 an hour.

Recruitment for the site is currently underway.