Exclusive: Amazon to permanently close Bristol sorting office and move hundreds of staff to huge new site near M49

Amazon is permanently closing its sorting centre in Bristol and is consulting with staff over jobs, Bristol Live can exclusively reveal.

The company’s Cabot Park building at Avonmouth is a huge site that currently houses three separate operations under one roof - parcel deliveries, heavy goods deliveries such as washing machines, and a sorting office. In total, around 430 people work within the building.

Under the proposals, Amazon staff working in the parcel and heavy goods delivery departments - some 295 people - will transfer to a vast new industrial site at Severnside near the M49 and will continue in their roles.

The 112,000 sq m building at Axis Works is understood to have cost Amazon some £200m. The space is currently being fitted out, Bristol Live understands, with employees set to move across in October.

Meanwhile, the Amazon sorting office, which employs 135 staff, will be shut for good at the end of August.

It is understood that of the sorting centre workers, 90 permanent staff will be offered jobs at Amazon’s huge fulfilment site in Avonmouth. The 40 sorting centre employees on fixed-term contracts will work out their notice at the fulfilment centre before leaving the business.

Bristol Live understands that five people within the sorting office, who are in senior roles, will be offered jobs elsewhere in the Amazon network.

The company is consulting with all staff at the affected Cabot Park site.

A spokesperson for Amazon, told Bristol Live: “We're always evaluating our network to make sure it meets our business needs and to improve the experience for employees and customers. As part of that, we're investing in a brand-new, purpose-built delivery station in Bristol four miles from our existing site in Cabot Park. All delivery station employees will continue their roles at the new site.

“As part of the same move, our sorting operation at the current building will close, and nearly all employees will be relocated to our nearby fulfilment centre in Avonmouth. For a small number of specialist roles, we’re actively exploring options, including suitable positions within our UK network.

“We’re consulting with every affected employee, and our priority is supporting them through this transition.”

Amazon has a separate delivery station at Western Approach Distribution Park, an industrial site next to the M49 'ghost junction', which is unaffected by the changes.

The closure of Amazon's Bristol sorting office means the nearest sorting centres are now in Milton Keynes and in the Midlands - both of which are much larger sites.

Amazon employs some 75,000 people in the UK, in a wide range of jobs including technology, delivery and warehouse positions, and has three sites in and around Bristol.

Last month, it was revealed the company paid more than £1.3bn in UK taxes last year. Amazon said at the time its taxes for 2025 had risen by at least 20 per cent from £1bn in 2024.