Amazon has announced it is closing three UK warehouses, while also opening two new facilities in a move that will see a net increase in the amount of distribution space it operates in the UK.

Amazon said it would close a 450K facility in Hemel Hempstead, to the north of London; a 415K SF facility in Doncaster, in the north of England; and a 330K SF facility in Gourock, in the west of Scotland.

The closures affect 1,200 jobs. Amazon has said it will try to relocate as many of the staff as possible to new facilities, although that is more difficult in Gourock, where there is no nearby Amazon fulfilment centre.

Amazon also confirmed it is opening two new distribution facilities: a 2.3M SF scheme in Peddimore, in the West Midlands, being developed by IM Properties, and a 2M SF facility in Stockton-on-Tees, in the north east.

The new openings mean Amazon is increasing its UK distribution footprint by almost 3M SF on a net basis. In doing so, it is closing industrial facilities that are more than 10 years old and opening newer purpose-built facilities. The company has more than 30 distribution facilities in the UK.

Last week, the company announced 8,000 redundancies worldwide as the global recession hits tech companies particularly hard. The majority of those jobs are in its offices.

Amazon said last year that it would slow the pace of acquiring new warehouse space as growth in its online retail business levelled off.