Amazon steps up British investment, to create 1500 jobs

LONDON (Reuters) - Online retailer Amazon said it would create 1,500 new jobs in 2017 when it opens a new distribution centre in Tilbury, south east England, maintaining its surge of investment in Britain. News of the investment follows Friday's announcement that it will create 500 jobs when it opens a fulfilment centre in Doncaster, northern England, next year. The new jobs in Doncaster and Tilbury are in addition to the 3,500 Amazon has announced it expects to create in Britain in 2016, spanning head office, research and development centres, customer service centres, a fashion photography studio, Amazon Web Services and distribution centres. Those jobs will take Amazon's total full-time permanent employees to over 15,500 by the end of 2016. Amazon said it needs more distribution centres to meet increasing demand, to expand its product selection of more than 150 million items and support a growing number of independent small businesses who sell on Amazon Marketplace and use Amazon's warehousing and delivery services. The Tilbury warehouse will be the firm's 13th in Britain. Amazon's new UK manager Doug Gurr said in July Britain's decision to leave the European Union had not affected its investment plans for the country. (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton)