logo
Amazon to add 'Printed in Dunstable' label to millions of books

Amazon to add 'Printed in Dunstable' label to millions of books

BBC News25-07-2025
The name of the town where Amazon prints its books will now feature on millions of paperbacks, the company has announced.Amazon said a "Printed in Dunstable, United Kingdom" label would be added to the books. The decision follows a campaign by Alex Mayer, the Labour MP for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard, who said she wanted the town in Bedfordshire to receive the recognition it deserved. The US firm said it would celebrate "the area's continuing contribution to the UK publishing industry".
Amazon said the Dunstable plant, which opened in 2015 and operated around the clock, employs more than 200 people. It is responsible for printing thousands of titles each day, from well-known works to debuts by self-published authors. As part of her campaign, Mayer said she wrote a children's story called The Book Who Searched, which follows a book who struggles to discover where they were printed. "I challenged Amazon to make my story come true, and I'm really delighted they have done just that," she said. "Now every year millions of books will say that they're printed in Dunstable. "It's a real boost for civic pride."
Zak Watts, Amazon books UK country manager, said Dunstable has a "proud history". "This new addition reflects our commitment to the local community that has supported us."He thanked Mayer "for the idea" to include the town in the printing process and also praised the town's "skilled workforce".
Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

The proof that remote workers clock off early on Fridays
The proof that remote workers clock off early on Fridays

Telegraph

time3 minutes ago

  • Telegraph

The proof that remote workers clock off early on Fridays

Remote workers are clocking off at 3pm on a Friday, claiming they deserve to enjoy the summer, data has revealed. There is an an 8pc dip in internet traffic between 3-5pm at the end of the week during the summer months compared with the winter, broadband data released by Virgin Media showed. At the same time nearly 61pc of workers think they have earned the right to log off early after four days of work. The same survey by Virgin Media revealed that one in 10 admitted taking their laptops to the pub to get their weekend started early. However, the majority (59pc) don't feel any guilt giving themselves an early clock-off, and believed dropping a few hours on a Friday makes them work harder during the week. It comes amid struggling public sector productivity, which fell by 0.3pc in 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics. The Telegraph revealed in April that more than 2,000 public sector workers were allowed to work from foreign countries. Yet the majority of civil servants believe remote working has had a positive impact on Whitehall, according to a survey by YouGov. Bosses have started to order staff back to the office, with companies such as Amazon requesting five days a week in person. Yet despite this, councils and charities are trialling four-day weeks with no pay reduction, with supporters claiming it can deliver more efficient working and attract better candidates for jobs. This month South Cambridgeshire became the first council to permanently adopt a four-day week last week, including for bin collectors, council tax administrators and social housing officials. It is understood that as many as 25 councils are in talks with the Four Day Week Foundation, the campaign pushing for the change, despite warnings that reduced working hours do not represent the best possible value for money for residents and taxpayers. In January the Four Day Week Foundation announced that 200 UK companies had signed up for a permanent four-day week. Separately, an investigation by The Telegraph found that charities were reducing the working hours of their staff. Non-profit businesses making the change include the British Red Cross, which received £32m in government funding last year. It is trialling compressed hours, allowing some UK-based staff to work 32 hours rather than 35 a week. If passed into law Labour's Employment Rights Bill will make the right to request flexible working the 'default', building on reforms under the previous Tory government that made flexible working available from the first day in a job. Data from LinkedIn showed that 40pc of jobs advertised across the UK last November were hybrid roles, compared to fewer than one in three postings in Germany and France offering some sort of remote working. LinkedIn said it was 'highly likely' that Britain would remain the capital of working from home in Europe for the foreseeable future. Jeanie York, of Virgin Media O2, said: 'Our network traffic analysis is revealing changing workplace habits in real time as the nation takes advantage of long summer Fridays.'

Amazon slumps after cloud computing growth underwhelms investors
Amazon slumps after cloud computing growth underwhelms investors

Reuters

time3 minutes ago

  • Reuters

Amazon slumps after cloud computing growth underwhelms investors

Aug 1 (Reuters) - shares tumbled 8% on Friday, as the tech giant's results fanned investor fears its cloud unit was falling behind Microsoft and Alphabet in the artificial intelligence race. Amazon Web Services, long the cloud-computing market leader, edged past Wall Street estimates for June-quarter revenue on Thursday with a 17.5% increase, but it widely lagged the 39% growth seen at Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud's 32% gain. That disappointing growth came even as Amazon shelled out $31.4 billion in capital expenditure, more than rivals, and suggested it would spend a more-than-estimated $118 billion for the year. Google and Microsoft also pledged higher spending, but were rewarded from investors on signs AI was already becoming a major growth driver across their businesses, justifying the bill. The companies have been spending billions of dollars on data centers and cutting-edge chips that they say are necessary to overcome supply constraints hampering their efforts to capitalize on soaring demand for AI services. "The spotlight was firmly on AWS and it didn't quite shine as brightly as expected," said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. "While Microsoft and Alphabet have already shown strong momentum in cloud growth, AWS wasn't the knockout many wanted to see." Growing expenses have also started to take a bite out of AWS's margins, the business that has long been Amazon's profit engine, accounting for about 60% of its operating income. AWS margins contracted to 32.9% during the quarter, their lowest level since the final quarter of 2023, and Amazon also issued a current-quarter total operating income forecast that was lower than market estimates. CEO Andy Jassy told analysts on a post-earnings call that it was still "very early days" in the AI race and that Amazon's massive cloud business, much larger than rivals, was primed to perform well once the AI capacity constraints start to ease. The stock, up 6.7% so far this year, was trading at $215.9 before the bell. The drop was set to erase around $190 billion from Amazon's market value, if premarket losses hold. The company still trades at a relatively high premium, with a 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio of 33.87, compared with Microsoft's (MSFT.O), opens new tab 34.19 and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab 18.64, according to data compiled by LSEG. At least 30 analysts raised their price targets on the stock, while three lowered, giving it a median view of $260. Some of that analyst confidence comes from the strong performance of Amazon's retail business, which has remained resilient in the face of Trump administration tariffs that have hobbled many retailers and their supply chains. Amazon has yet to see a drop in demand or a notable rise in prices in the first half of the year, Jassy said, as its online store sales jumped a better-than-expected 11% in the second quarter. Manufacturers and suppliers have shouldered most of the tariff impact so far, analysts said, but noted that much of the inventory Amazon sold in the quarter arrived in the preceding three-month period. "If Amazon's retail business was a standalone entity, it would be trading dramatically higher following the near-perfect results," said Michael Morton, analyst at MoffettNathanson. "Unfortunately, as we all know, the success of the retail business is not what's going to matter in the near term for Amazon's stock price."

Alexander Dennis puts Falkirk factory up for sale amid bailout talks
Alexander Dennis puts Falkirk factory up for sale amid bailout talks

The National

time11 minutes ago

  • The National

Alexander Dennis puts Falkirk factory up for sale amid bailout talks

It comes despite the historic Scottish bus firm entering into talks to try and save the 400 jobs that are on the line. The Scottish Government confirmed earlier this week that it is looking at a rescue package it thinks could save jobs at Alexander Dennis – but said details were being kept under wraps due to 'commercial sensitivity'. In June, the bus manufacturer first threatened to end its operations in Scotland by closing its sites in Larbert and Falkirk. It is planning to centralise its operations in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. READ MORE: SNP slam Labour as tuition fees hiked to £9535 in England and Wales But The Daily Record is now reporting that Alexander Dennis has already put its 15-acre factory in Camelon up for sale – with the marketing agent describing it as "an excellent housing opportunity" for around 174 homes. The firm insisted, however, the sale "does not represent a foregone conclusion". In a statement, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes (below) said: "We are working constructively with Alexander Dennis Ltd, the unions, the wider public transport sector and the UK Government on supporting and expanding the market for electric buses. "This is all aimed at securing and creating jobs, helping to meet our climate targets and providing a sustainable future for the bus manufacturing industry, which plays an important role in the Scottish and UK economies." (Image: Andrew Milligan) Unite's regional secretary for Scotland Derek Thomson previously told a Holyrood committee that the closure of Alexander Dennis's Scottish operations would be "catastrophic" for the local area. The threat of closure has already spilled into the Scottish economy, with Greenfold Systems Ltd, based in Dunfermline, Fife, closing because a major proportion of its operations were involved with the troubled bus firm. A total of 81 jobs were lost after the "loss of a major contract", administrators said. The threatened closure has become a major political issue, with Scottish Labour accusing the SNP of failing to do enough to support the firm. Anas Sarwar has repeatedly criticised John Swinney of having done "nothing" to save jobs, pointing out that the [[SNP]] were ordering "buses from China, instead of from Scotland". But it later emerged that in Labour-run Edinburgh, where the buses are municipally owned by the council, had not bought buses from Alexander Dennis in the last three years.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store