Amazon is expanding its workforce in the UK, with the announcement of 2,500 new full-time roles across the country, taking the company’s UK workforce to 27,500 by the end of 2018.

The new jobs reflect the company’s focus and investment in its research and development capabilities in the UK. The new positions will focus on the company’s growing range of products and services including Amazon Fresh, Amazon Business, Amazon Fashion, Prime Now, Prime Video, Amazon Music, Amazon Echo and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

More than 650 permanent roles will be created in the company’s development centres – including that in Edinburgh – and AWS, in addition to several hundred new head office roles. Amazon claims it will have over 6,500 corporate, R&D and AWS roles in the UK by the end of 2018.

Amazon reports that it has invested over £9.3 billion in its UK operations since 2010.

Edinburgh, Cambridge and London

Amazon is hiring for roles in its head office and fashion photography studio in London, development centres in Edinburgh, Cambridge and London, its customer service centre in Edinburgh, and within AWS. Positions will also be created in dozens of delivery stations across the country and 16 of the company’s fulfilment centres, including new sites in Coventry and Bolton.

Amazon’s development centre in central Edinburgh focuses on the company’s discovery and recommendations technology. Graeme Smith, the Managing Director of the Amazon Development Centre Scotland, told DIGIT: “Scotland is a fantastic place to do business so we are delighted to continue our investment in the economy and provide quality, permanent roles for people in Scotland.

“Whether you are looking for an entry-level role or in highly-specialised fields such as software engineering or machine learning, we are proud to be expanding our UK workforce so we can continue to innovate on behalf of our customers.”

Vote of Confidence

Philip Hammond MP, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, said: “Supporting businesses to create the high-quality jobs of the future is a key part of our plan to create an economy that works for everyone.

“Innovative companies, such as Amazon, will be at the forefront of our new economy. And I welcome the news that they are creating 2,500 permanent, new jobs across the country. It’s a clear vote of confidence in our workforce and our economy.”

Doug Gurr, Amazon UK Country Manager, said: “The UK is a fantastic place to do business so we are delighted to continue our investment in the British economy and provide quality, permanent roles for people the length and breadth of the country.”

The company is also currently recruiting a further 170 apprentices in fulfilment centres across the UK with opportunities in operations, engineering and facilities.