US technology giant Amazon says it is bringing an additional 180 ‘Silicon Valley’ style jobs to Cambridge as part of a new wave of UK expansion.

Amazon’s Cambridge Development Centre is to create space for the additional roles to develop innovations for Alexa, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and machine learning.

In a major investment boost to UK innovation, Amazon has also announced plans to open a new corporate office in Manchester in 2019 and increase the capacity of its Scotland and Cambridge development centres. 

The new investment will provide additional capacity for over 1,000 new highly skilled roles in the UK.

Secretary of State for International Trade, Liam Fox, hailed the move as a major boost for the UK. He said: “Ensuring that the world’s best and brightest companies continue to invest and innovate in the UK is at the heart of our Global Britain agenda. 

“Amazon’s decision to create hundreds of highly-skilled jobs in Manchester, Edinburgh and Cambridge is an enormous vote of confidence in the UK and a signal to the world that the UK is very much open for business.”
Doug Gurr, UK country manager for Amazon, said: “With the UK taking a leading role in our global innovation we are delighted to announce plans to create capacity for over 1,000 new highly-skilled roles across the country. “These are Silicon Valley jobs in Britain, and further cement our long-term commitment to the UK.”

Amazon’s Cambridge Development Centre will receive new investment for expansion, creating capacity for the additional 180 new roles. The development centre houses R &D teams that bring new innovation to millions of Amazon customers around the globe, including: Amazon Devices, Amazon Alexa (the brain that powers devices such as Amazon Echo, Echo Dot and Echo Show); AWS; Prime Air (a future delivery system to safely get packages to customers in 30 minutes or less using drones) and core machine learning and retail systems, improving the shopping experience for Amazon customers.

Since 2010, Amazon has invested more than £9.3 billion in the UK to build and run its operations, and is on course to grow to 27,500 roles – including over 6,500 roles in its corporate, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and R & D divisions – by the end of this year.

• PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS: Doug Gurr