Amazon plans to add to its 55,000-strong UK workforce as plans for a major expansion get underway.

The announcement – part of the company’s career day – will see the ecommerce giant hire new staff for its offices in London and Manchester, as well as its tech centres in Cambridge and Edinburgh.

The company’s tech hub in Edinburgh will undergo an expansion that has been in the works since 2018, facilitating many of the new positions.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said: “Amazon continues to grow quickly and relentlessly invent across many areas, and we’re hoping that Career Day gives both jobseekers and current Amazon employees the support they need to learn new skills or reimagine their careers at Amazon or elsewhere.”

The news follows on from Amazon’s Small Business Accelerator, which hit a landmark figure in helping thousands of Scottish SMEs to build digital skills during Covid-19.

Working alongside the UK’s small business support network, Enterprise Nation, Amazon is providing bootcamp events to around 200k small UK firms, with 12,000 based in Scotland.

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The move to increase the company’s vocational presence in the UK follows a year in which demand for Amazon’s online delivery services skyrocketed as a result of the pandemic.

Amazon’s UK Country Manager John Boumphrey said: “Whether you’re looking to start your first job, to gain new skills, or thinking of a completely fresh start in a new field, we have thousands of exciting opportunities available right across the UK.

“We created Career Day to provide free guidance, coaching and inspiration to anyone who wants to develop their career, whether that’s with Amazon or somewhere else.”