Amazon is investing £40 billion in the UK over the next three years with the investment aiming to contribute an estimated additional £38 billion to the UK’s GDP, the firm said on Tuesday.
The investment includes the construction of four new fulfilment centres and delivery stations across the country, as well as the renovation and expansion of more than 100 UK-based operational buildings.
The plan will also cover the opening of two new buildings at Amazon’s East London headquarters and strategic investments in Amazon’s regional transportation infrastructure to boost Amazon’s customer service across the country.
According to the tech giant, the planned investment will create thousands of full-time jobs, most of them outside London and in the south-east, totalling over 60 different roles that will include positions for robotics technicians, security experts and mechatronic engineers.
These will include 2,000 jobs at the previously announced state-of-the-art sorting centre in Hull and 2,000 jobs at another in Northampton.
Further roles will also be announced at new sites in the East Midlands and delivery stations across the country.
Amazon added that the plan will include strengthening the UK’s creative industry, including through the redevelopment of the historic Bray Film Studios in Berkshire and investment in landmark original television and film productions.
The investment includes part of the £8 billion previously announced by Amazon in September 2024 to build, operate and maintain data centres in the UK and increase AI computing capacity, Amazon said.
Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy pointed out that the tech giant, which currently employs over 75,000 people in the country, is now one of the UK’s largest private sector employers and contributors.
“When Amazon invests, it’s not only in London and the South East – we’re bringing innovation and job creation to communities throughout England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, strengthening the UK’s economy and delivering better experiences for customers wherever they live.”
Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, said the move represents a “massive vote of confidence” in the UK.
“Whether it’s cutting-edge AI or same-day delivery, this deal shows that our Plan for Change is working—bringing in investment, driving growth, and putting more money in people’s pockets.”
The move comes as the UK continues to strengthen relationships in the technology landscape to stimulate the country’s growth.
Earlier this month, Starmer and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang revealed that the partnership between the government and Nvidia will involve the creation of an artificial intelligence technology centre in Bristol, which will train artificial intelligence developers.
“We’re going to start our AI lab and we’re going to partner with the UK to upskill the ecosystem of developers into the world of AI, we will invest in helping start off the UK AI ecosystem,” Huang said.
The collaboration comes in parallel with the government announcement of a new £187 million national skills programme to equip young people and workers across the UK with cutting-edge AI and digital skills.
The AI skills training initiative called “TechFirst” aims to train 7.5 million people from different backgrounds and occupations in AI skills, with a focus on education in schools, universities and post-graduate programmes.
