Amazon creates another 900 jobs in Edinburgh

Online retailer Amazon has announced its second major expansion in Scotland this year.

The company is to set up a customer services centre in Edinburgh, creating 500 permanent and 400 temporary jobs.

The new centre will handle customer queries for the group and technical support for its e-book reader, Kindle, and its MP3 services.

In January, Amazon announced 950 more full-time jobs in Dunfermline and Gourock.

Amazon is to get a grant of £1.8m from Scottish Enterprise to help train new staff and fit-out the Edinburgh centre, located at Waverley Gate, the former Post Office building in Waterloo Place.

The company said it had chosen Edinburgh because of the financial support from the enterprise body and the availability of a high-quality workforce.

The new centre will open in August, a few months before Amazon's new fulfilment centre in Dunfermline.

That facility will replace a smaller plant at Glenrothes, also in Fife, and is the size of 14 football pitches.

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."

Set up in 1998, Amazon offers a wide variety of products over the internet, including books, movies, music, PC and video games, software and electronics.

The firm also operates a a development centre in South Queensferry as well as its fulfilment centre in Gourock.

Vice president of European operations at Amazon, Allan Lyall, said: "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.

"Edinburgh is an outstanding location, providing us with access to a highly-skilled workforce who will help us to achieve the high standards of customer service that shoppers at Amazon.co.uk expect."