Amazon.com Inc. plans to shut down three of its UK warehouses this year in an operation that will impact about 1,200 employees. 

Hemel Hempstead, Doncaster and Gourock will shut this year, making way for two new fulfillment centers, Amazon said in a statement on Tuesday. The new sites will ultimately create 2,500 jobs in the next three years, the company said. 

Employees at the affected warehouses will be offered jobs at other facilities, the company said. 

The Seattle-based e-commerce giant said earlier this month that it plans to eliminate more than 18,000 jobs, representing about 1% of total employees, in the biggest layoffs in its history. Amazon is adjusting to a dramatic slowdown in online shopping after consumers resumed their pre-pandemic retail habits, and the company has delayed warehouse openings and halted hiring in its retail group. 

The GMB union called the move a “kick in the teeth” for staff and said it was unreasonable to ask employees to move to a different location, “which may be many miles away.” –BLOOMBERG