Amazon To Invest $54 Billion In The United Kingdom
E-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN) has announced plans to invest £40 billion ($54 billion U.S.) in the United Kingdom over the next three years.
Seattle-based Amazon said it plans to spend the money on building four new fulfillment centres, which are warehouses where it prepares orders for delivery, as well as upgrades and expansions to its existing operations across the region.
The announcement was cheered by the British government, which has been courting investments from major technology companies as it looks to boost domestic growth.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement that the investment would create thousands of new jobs — and was a sign that the government’s growth plan is working.
Amazon said its investments would create an initial 4,000 jobs, including 2,000 positions at a fulfillment centre in Hull and another 2,000 jobs at a site in Northampton.
The firm also plans to open two new buildings at its corporate headquarters in London and improve its transportation infrastructure throughout the U.K.
Last year, Amazon announced a five-year £8 billion investment to build and operate data centres in the U.K. to boost its computer capacity for artificial intelligence (A.I.) applications.
AMZN stock has declined 5% this year to trade at $208.47 U.S. per share.
