Amazon has announced a £40bn investment programme in the UK over the next three years, which includes the construction of four new fulfilment centres, the opening of new delivery stations, and upgrades and expansions to its existing network of over 100 operations buildings.
The investment will also create thousands of new permanent, full-time jobs in the UK, with the vast majority outside of London and the South East.
These include 2,000 jobs at the previously announced state-of-the-art fulfilment centre in Hull and 2,000 jobs at another in Northampton, plus additional positions at new sites in the East Midlands and at delivery stations across the country.
Amazon said the move demonstrates its commitment to supporting growth and productivity for the benefit of its customers, partners, and the wider economy, with the investment expected to drive innovation throughout the UK and contribute an estimated additional £38bn to the UK’s GDP.
Amazon already employs over 75,000 people across the UK and pays full-time employees a minimum of £28,000 per year, rising to £30,000 in London.
The company said it will create over 60 different roles at the new sites, including positions for robotics technicians, safety experts, and mechatronic engineers.
Alongside the planned creation of the new operations facilities, the £40bn investment includes opening two new buildings at Amazon’s corporate HQ in East London and ongoing investment to enhance Amazon’s transportation infrastructure in every region.
The investment also includes part of the £8bn previously announced in September 2024 for building, operating, and maintaining data centres in the UK.
Andy Jassy, Amazon chief executive, said: “Amazon has been proud to serve our customers in the UK for the past 27 years.
“Thanks to their support, we’ve grown to be part of over 100 communities nationwide, from developing drone technology in Darlington to producing world-class entertainment at our studios in Bray.
“We now employ over 75,000 people and have become one of the UK’s largest private sector employers and taxpayers.
“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 Keir Starmer said: “Amazon’s £40bn investment adds another major win to Britain’s basket and is a massive vote of confidence in the UK as the best place to do business.
“It means thousands of new jobs—real opportunities for people in every corner of the country to build careers, learn new skills, and support their families.
“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.”
Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said: “This investment is a powerful endorsement of Britain’s economic strengths.
“The world is changing, but this Government is working hand in hand with businesses to navigate that change to create jobs, wealth and opportunity in every corner of the country.”
Business and Trade Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds said: “Our Modern Industrial Strategy will ensure the UK is the best country to invest and do business, and seeing massive international firms like Amazon bank on Britain shows we are on the right track.
“This investment will create highly-skilled jobs and boost living standards across the country, and the £100bn of investment we’ve secured in the past year shows our Plan for Change is already delivering for working people.”
Amazon is offering 1,000 new full-time apprenticeship roles this year, and already employs more than 75,000 people in over 100 sites across the UK.
The company is also significantly investing in R&D in the UK, including in drone technology, with Darlington set to be the location of the UK’s first Prime Air drone deliveries. At R&D sites in Cambridge, Edinburgh, Swansea, and London, teams work on logistics and operations technology, as well as forglobal products and services for AWS, Prime Video, Music, Games, and Alexa.
Amazon said its continued expansion will create career opportunities right across the UK, as the company is focused on upskilling its employees and preparing them for the next generation of jobs.
It offers Career Choice, an innovative programme which covers up to £8,000 of training costs to secure nationally recognised qualifications in areas including HGV driving, environmental technology, IT, human resources, accounting, and language skills. Over 23,000 participants have already benefited from this programme.
Earlier this year, the online retailer announced it is creating more than 1,000 new apprenticeships in the UK in 2025, building on the 5,300 apprenticeships across 62 different programmes that Amazon has provided since 2013.
This month, Amazon committed to partner with the UK government’s ambition to train 7.5 million UK workers in essential AI skills by 2030 - equivalent to around 20% of the UK workforce.
Amazon is also committed to supporting people from underserved and underrepresented backgrounds find meaningful employment opportunities, through employability programmes at Amazon for military veterans, care leavers, prison leavers, and young people with learning disabilities and autism via the Amazon Supported Internship programme.
Earlier this year, Amazon announced the UK’s largest-ever order for electric trucks, with more than 140 new electric HGVs joining Amazon’s transportation network from this year, and new charging infrastructure to support them.
Once fully operational, the eHGVs are expected to transport more than 300 million packages each year with no exhaust emissions. Amazon remains the world’s largest purchaser of renewable energy, investing in more than 40 solar and wind projects in the UK to date.
These projects will provide an estimated 950 MWs of new carbon free energy capacity, enough energy to power the equivalent of 860,000 UK households annually.
