Amazon today unveiled plans to create thousands of new jobs in Europe in 2016 as it “invents and invests for the future” in areas including its drone-based Prime Air service. As well as fulfilment, the money will also go into research and development. The move follows a 2015 in which it added a record 10,000 people to a European payroll that currently numbers more than 40,000.
In 2016, said the online giant, an Elite retailer in the IRUK Top500, it will expand its European fulfilment network, including in Prime Air – currently described on its website as a “future delivery system,” but one that Paul Misener, Amazon’s vice president for global public policy, has said in a recently published interview is currently a key focus for the retailer. Following recent investment in a London head office for the UK market, it will invest in the UK as well as in markets across Europe as it develops R&D and builds infrastructure for its cloud computing business in the continent. It is hiring computer scientists and software development engineers as it looks to innovate in Prime Air – and across its retail website and mobile apps, digital media, devices and device software such as voice recognition technology and cloud services.
“We are seeing stronger demand than ever from our customers all across Europe, and we see lots more opportunity across Amazon’s businesses to invent and invest for the future,” said Xavier Garambois, vice president, Amazon EU Retail. “We created more than 10,000 new jobs in 2015 and plan to create several thousand more in 2016 at all education, experience and skill levels, from speech and linguistic scientists to digital media experts to fulfilment centre and customer service associates.”
