Warehouse Employment Reshapes Former Coalfield Areas

In a South Yorkshire warehouse, packages move rapidly on high-speed conveyor belts, prepared for nationwide distribution. Forty years prior, coal dominated these former mining communities; today, fast fashion is the primary export. The current number of individuals working in warehousing matches the peak employment figures of the collieries. The surge in online retail has generated employment and prospects with delivery services like Evri and retailers such as Pretty Little Thing, all of which operate distribution centers close to Barnsley and the M1. Although concerns exist regarding the sector’s potential “vulnerability” to automation and AI, specialists contend that it has permanently altered the demographic composition and job market of the coalfield area. Across South, North, and West Yorkshire, former mining districts now employ 60,000 individuals in over 1,000 warehouses. The warehousing and logistics industry collectively employs approximately 180,000 people throughout England, Scotland, and Wales, a figure comparable to the workforce in the coal industry before the 1984-5 miners’ strike. Yorkshire has been designated the “capital of warehousing” due to its “staggering” expansion, which contributes to nearly half of all new jobs in the coalfields region presently. While warehouse wages and working conditions have faced criticism and examination, some employees in Barnsley described their positions as ideal, citing flexibility, opportunities for advancement, and convenience. Lauren Smith stated she had been in “dead end” jobs prior to joining Evri. She started as a warehouse operative, subsequently moving into administrative and supervisory roles, and has also functioned as a trade union representative. She commented: “I’ve never been to a place which has given me as much as this place has. It’s a job that had the most potential for me.” The 32-year-old found that early shifts and a nearby workplace provided an incentive to explore a new career, and she mentioned that her partner and friends are also employed in distribution centers due to the adaptable hours. Maxwell Henderson, previously in construction, opted for a position at Evri when employment opportunities diminished, as the working hours allowed him to collect his daughter from school and dedicate more time to her. “I tried it and it turns out I enjoy it,” he stated. He started as an agency worker and has since become a full-time supervisor. The Evri facility is one of several located near the M1, alongside those of ASOS, Pretty Little Thing, and M&S. This site serves as the company’s primary “hub” and has done so since 2022. Gareth Shawcroft, who heads the Barnsley center, remarked: “Ever since Covid, there has been a boom in online shopping – that’s really not gone away. While it has dropped, it is still at a higher level. We’ve seen a lot of growth and that’s really helping to support our growth.” The warehouse was constructed with integrated cranes, enabling the addition of extra floors during expansion phases. Yorkshire’s central position within the UK and its excellent motorway connections have offered optimal sites, with numerous former colliery locations now occupied by these new developments. Notably, Kellingley Colliery, England’s final deep coal mine, was recently transformed into a warehouse and logistics business park. Evri established its network hub in Barnsley to offer delivery solutions for clients who had already set up their own facilities in the vicinity. Nevertheless, the State of the Coalfields 2024 report, commissioned by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, issued a caution regarding the “deterioration” of high-quality employment in the area. The report indicated that warehouse employment might be “labour intensive, poorly paid and with little union representation,” despite Evri offering salaries exceeding the Living Wage. Mark Todd of the trade union USDAW commented: “It is very worrying when you hear stories of people not being able to leave their workstations to go to the toilet.” He added: “When we work with employers we expect that their colleagues are safe and respected.” The Evri center features over seven miles of conveyor belts, yet machines handle the sorting of parcels on them. Mr. Shawcroft noted that in certain functions, humans “do a better job” than technology and automation. He explained: “The majority of people are either in the back of trailers putting the parcels on to the sortation equipment, or in the back of trailers outbound.” He continued: “We’ve looked at automating that but actually they can’t do as good a job as human beings currently – so while that is still the case, we’ll always use people to do those jobs.” Dr. Nicky Stubbs of the University of Sheffield indicated that the industry possesses “potential vulnerabilities” that might affect workers in the future. He stated: “I’m not going to suggest that we’re going to end up in a pit closure 2.0 scenario. But one thing local authorities need to get their head round is how vulnerable some of these jobs are in warehousing, so they can respond.” Professor Steve Fothergill from Sheffield Hallam University, an authority on coalfields regeneration, mentioned he had “never predicted” the expansion of the logistics industry. He recalled: “Five years ago, when we first started to identify this significant growth in warehousing in employment in Yorkshire, several people said these jobs will disappear to automation.” He added: “They thought it was a flash in the pan, but what actually happened was that employment has accelerated.” He further commented: “I’m not saying it’s going to continue forever and there will be automation which will remove some of the jobs but for the moment, there is a lot of momentum.” He also stated his expectation for the continued increase “for some while yet.” The professor’s research into the workforce’s origins revealed that over half of the positions filled between 2011 and 2021 were taken by UK residents born outside the country. He further remarked: “Only half the benefit has filtered through to local residents and that’s quite a startling observation.” He concluded: “I can’t help but feel that the growth in warehousing is an important trigger to this major change of composition of the population.”