Amazon opens its first fulfilment centre in Ireland

Amazon customers in Ireland have started to receive items from the company’s new fulfilment centre in Dublin following its official opening this summer. The 630,000 square foot fulfilment centre, in Dublin’s Baldonnell Business Park, has created 500 new jobs and will help provide faster delivery for customers across the country seven days a week, including one-day delivery on hundreds of thousands of items.

The Dublin fulfilment centre, the first of its kind in Ireland, will hold millions of items to be picked, packed and shipped to customers across the island of Ireland and the rest of Europe. The fulfilment centre in Dublin joins the two Amazon delivery stations, based in Rathcoole and Ballycoolin, to open in the Republic of Ireland.

The team marked the opening of the Baldonnell site with a social event and celebrations to welcome new employees through the doors.

Jack Crane from Dublin is part of the new team in Baldonnell and was the first person to pick and pack a customer order from the site. The first order, a laptop stand and a connector for a computer monitor, was picked and packed at the fulfilment centre before making its way to the Amazon delivery station in Rathcoole.

The parcel was then sorted at the delivery station and loaded onto a delivery van, which was driven by Hilary Redmond, an independent contractor engaged by Jetline Logistics Ltd to deliver Amazon parcels, to the home of Alex Dobinson in South Dublin. Alex is the first customer in Ireland to receive an order from the new Amazon fulfilment centre.

“It was great to receive the first package from the new Amazon fulfilment centre in Dublin and meet some of the team,” said Alex. “We will definitely be ordering again in the future!”

Jack Crane, who works at Amazon’s new fulfilment centre as a picker, said, “I’m proud to be part of the new team here at Amazon in Dublin and I’m excited for the great things we’re going to achieve together.

“It’s fantastic to be part of a company that’s delivering for customers in Ireland while also offering many training and development opportunities for employees in a safe and modern environment.”

Darragh Kelly, General Manager at Amazon’s fulfilment centre in Dublin, added: “It is an honour to lead the opening of our first ever fulfilment centre on the island of Ireland.

“Our new fulfilment centre will provide customers across Ireland with faster delivery times while creating hundreds of roles across a wide range of disciplines including engineering, HR, IT, health & safety, finance and operations management. It’s an exciting time to be a part of the Amazon team in Dublin and I’m looking forward to the weeks and months ahead as we grow our team and deliver for our customers.”

The introduction of the first fulfilment centre in Ireland builds on Amazon’s continued commitment to, and investment in, the country after opening the first Amazon office in Ireland in September 2004. In April 2006, Amazon opened a Customer Service Centre in Cork, and in November 2007, Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched its first infrastructure region outside of the US in Ireland.

Since this time, AWS has continued to invest in Ireland and the impact of its investments today supports 8,700 jobs directly and indirectly and generates growth in economic output of €1.45 billion a year.

Amazon provides competitive pay, excellent benefits and a modern, safe and engaging work environment for its employees. Amazon pays all full-time, part-time, temporary, and seasonal employees in the Republic of Ireland a minimum of €13.50 per hour. Employees are also offered a comprehensive benefits package including include private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection and an employee discount as well as a company pension plan.

Amazon offers employees Career Choice, an innovative programme which pre-pays 95% of tuition for courses in high-demand fields, up to €12,000 over four years, regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon.

Amazon also provides opportunities to improve existing skills or learn new ones through internal career progression opportunities such as cross-training, transferring to a different department and promotion into a managerial role.

Amazon’s commitment is to be net-zero carbon across its business by 2040. The Dublin fulfilment centre launches with 100% electric, removing the use of fossil fuel combustibles (natural gas) and with energy efficiency as a top priority. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) is controlled by a building management system (BMS) that ensures a comfortable working environment for associates at the same time as reducing unnecessary energy consumption. LED lighting adjusts according to natural light availability and building occupancy, and indoor air quality is constantly monitored. Employees have access to electric vehicle charging and bicycle storage.

Anyone can find out more about what it’s like to work at an Amazon fulfilment centre by signing up for a virtual tour at amazonfctours.com.

People interested in applying for jobs at Amazon in Ireland should visit Amazon Jobs.