Multinational to “create 14,000 jobs a year” including construction work

Amazon Web Services has agreed to invest £8bn over five years in digital and artificial intelligence infrastructure in the UK, the Treasury has announced.

The multinational company has agreed the investment to support the “transformation of the UK’s digital economy”.

According to the government, the deal, agreed with chancellor Rachel Reeves last week, will support around 14,000 jobs per year at local businesses.

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Amazon Web Services said it will spend £8bn on UK data centres over the next five years

A Treasury spokesperson said these include “those across the company’s data centre supply chain such as construction, facility maintenance, engineering and telecommunications, as well as well as other jobs within the broader local economy”.

AWS estimates that these investments in the UK will contribute £14bn to the UK’s total GDP from 2024 to 2028.

>>See also: Top 150 Consultants 2024: What AI and machine learning tools are you using?

Reeves said the deal “marks the start of the economic revival and shows Britain is a place to do business”.

Tanuja Randery vice president and managing director, Europe, Middle East & Africa at AWS, said: “The next few years could be among the most pivotal for the UK’s digital and economic future, as organisations of all sizes across the country increasingly embrace technologies like cloud computing and AI to help them accelerate innovation, increase productivity, and compete on the global stage.”

Findings from Building’s Top 150 Consultants 2024 survey, trailed today show 88% of the largest consultancies in the industry now see AI and machine learning as “very” or “extremely” important to the transformation of their business over the next decade, up from 75% a year ago.

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