Cambridge to get 180 new jobs as Amazon announces innovation plan

Company will work on Alexa, Amazon Web Services, drones and machine learning with further investment in its development centre

Cambridge is to get 180 new jobs after Amazon announced it is to develop more innovations at its hi-tech centre in the city.

The additional roles will be aimed at continuing innovations for Alexa, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and machine learning In a major investment boost for Britain in the build-up to Brexit in March.

Amazon also announced it is to open a new corporate office in Manchester next year and increase the capacity at its Scottish centre.

Amazon’s Cambridge centre, in the CB1 area of Cambridge, houses R&D teams that bring new innovation to millions of its customers around the globe, including: Amazon Devices, Alexa (the brain that powers devices such as 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 customers.
Secretary of State for international trade, The Rt Hon Liam Fox MP, said: “Amazon’s decision to create hundreds of highly-skilled jobs in Cambridge, Manchester and Edinburgh 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, Amazon’s UK manager, added: “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 here.”
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 more than 6,500 in its corporate, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and R&D divisions - by the end of this year.
The company’s investment also enables businesses large and small to boost their productivity and reach millions of customers around the world.
In the UK, 85,000 people are employed by businesses selling on Amazon, and 60 per cent of those using Amazon export, achieved £2.3bn sales in 2017.
Read more
From Alexa to Prime Air: Amazon opens Cambridge Development Centre