Amazon employees in Darlington gave their children an exclusive behind the scenes peek into the magic that happens at the fulfilment centre ahead of Christmas.
Supported by the casting producer from the BAFTA nominated TV series The Secret Life of Four-Year Olds, the heart-warming video captures the children’s excitement and amazement during their visit to the fulfilment centre to see how their parents “help Santa” at his busiest time of the year.
The eight children, aged between five and ten-years-old, described their visit to the site equipped with state-of-the art robotics technology and what their parent’s job involves.
Isabella, nine, whose dad James Waterfall-Brown is a buyer, said: “I’m really proud of my dad for helping Santa at Christmas.” Lucia, 10 whose step dad David Koroma is a picker, described how: “The delivery van can fly but also goes to the North Pole to drop off all the presents where Santa then wraps them.”
The children saw Amazon Robotics in action. The robots slide under a tower of shelves where products are stowed, lifted and moved through the fulfilment centre. Connie’s dad Stuart Hanmer is an amnesty responder whose job involves maintaining the safety and quality of the robotics floor. She said: “The coolest thing about my daddy’s job is that he fixes robots: he’s a superhero!”
Ellie, whose mum Lizzie Lawrence works in health and safety at the site, said: “The best thing about my mum is that she’s very kind and caring. I’m proud of her because she helps people and makes sure everyone in the workplace is feeling good about their job.”
James Waterfall-Brown said: “I was so happy to be able to give my daughter the opportunity to come to Amazon and see what it is like with her own eyes. She was fascinated with the robots and the full process of how it all works within the fulfilment centre.”
Stuart Hanmer added: “I had such an amazing time being able to show Connie where I work. She would always ask me what I do while she's at school, and now she gets to tell her friends all about it and how her dad works with robots.
“The smile on her face as she got to see the fulfilment centre in action will stay with me forever. I'm so proud of her and how well she did while filming and on the tour.”
Another person bursting with pride was five-year-old Arlo, whose dad Josh Adamson is an operations manager: “My dad helps me with everything, he’s just so awesome and he’s me bezzie.”
Mallikarjun Erasu, general manager of the Amazon fulfilment centre in Darlington, said: “We were delighted to be able to give the children a peek behind the scenes of our fulfilment centre at this very special time of the year. I’m really proud of the whole team and how we are able to help all our customers, including Santa of course.”
The Darlington site was the first fulfilment centre to open in the North East of England in April 2020, followed by the opening of Durham fulfilment centre in September 2020 and Gateshead in September 2021. Amazon now employs more than 4,000 people in the North East.
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