Amazon to invest heavily in the UK

Online retail giant Amazon is to invest 40 billion pounds (43 billion francs) in the United Kingdom, a colossal commitment presented as a strong signal by the British government, which is facing economic difficulties.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who met with the Seattle group's CEO Andy Jassy last week, described the three-year investment (part of which was already known) as a "great victory" and "a vote of confidence" for the UK.

In fact, this commitment comes at the right time for the Labour government, which is struggling to keep its promise to revive growth, tossed between American customs duties, geopolitical tensions and internal criticism of its economic policy - with tax increases and public investment deemed unrealistic by the opposition.

The American giant, for its part, is making a major new announcement, having invested tens of billions worldwide for years. Last February, Andy Jassy announced his ambition to invest more than $100 billion (81 billion francs) over the year, primarily in cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI).

Amazon's billions in the UK coincide conveniently with the government's launch of a ten-year industrial strategy aimed at making it "the best country in which to invest," according to Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, quoted in the statement.

"The fact that large international companies like Amazon are investing in the UK shows that we are on the right track," insisted the minister, who was expected at the group's headquarters in London on Tuesday. The £40 billion will be used to build four distribution centers in Hull, Northampton (both already known) and the East Midlands.

Part of the sum will also finance the rehabilitation of the historic Bray film studios, acquired in July 2024, to shoot films and series there.

Amazon also signed an agreement in December with Games Workshop, the British company that owns the rights to Warhammer 40,000, to produce films and series based on this futuristic fantasy universe, a project that includes actor Henry Cavill, who played "Superman" and "The Witcher."

The group also took creative control of the James Bond franchise in February after reaching an agreement with the films' long-standing producers, the Broccoli family, who will remain co-owners.

Amazon's investment also includes a portion of the £8 billion (planned over five years) already announced last September to build and operate data centers, essential for AI and the cloud.

The UK isn't the only country benefiting from Amazon's recent expansion strategy: last week, AU$20 billion was pledged for data centers in Australia, the largest-ever technology investment in the country.

The group founded by Jeff Bezos, which currently employs 75,000 people in the UK across more than 100 sites, claims to have already invested £56 billion (CHF 62 billion) in the UK between 2010 and 2022. It has recently been the subject of an investigation by the UK Food Regulator, which suspects it of late payments to suppliers in the sector, a practice prohibited by industry rules.