ROYAL Mail has announced it will open eight parcel handling centres across the UK in the run-up to Christmas to deal with a boom in the number of shoppers buying presents online.
Two of the depots will be based north of the Border, one in Bathgate, the other at Eurocentral in Lanarkshire, creating 500 temporary jobs.
The site at the Pyramids Business Park in Bathgate will open this week and is expected to employ 350 staff, while the site at Eurocentral is expected to open in a few weeks and will create work for 150.
Gerry McAulay, the delivery director for north and west of Scotland, said: “Christmas is the busiest time of year for Royal Mail and our customers. Royal Mail has invested in eight dedicated parcel sort centres to increase our scale and improve our flexibility during this important time of year for our customers.
“As we do every year, we encourage people to post early and order presents early to help us spread the workload of handling the festive mailbag in the run up to Christmas.”
The company, which was split from the Post Office branch network in March, said the investment in the dedicated parcel sort centres was in addition to the “substantial financial commitment” Royal Mail normally makes on additional resources to handle the festive mailbag.
The other distribution centres will be in Bolton, Greenford, Peterborough, Swansea, Swindon and Tamworth.
ERIKKA ASKELAND