US online retail giant Amazon announced on Wednesday that it will invest $2.5 billion in its cloud-computing business in Spain, potentially creating 1,300 jobs.
This investment, spread over “a period of ten years,” will give Amazon Web Services (AWS), the entity responsible for managing Amazon’s cloud, an eighth data storage network in Europe, the US group said in a statement.
It is expected to create “1,300 full-time jobs” in Spain and boost the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by “$1.8 billion”, according to Amazon.
The announcement comes as the online retailer prepares to lay off around 10,000 employees worldwide, according to the New York Times.
If confirmed, this would be the largest social plan in the company’s history. According to the New York Times, the jobs targeted for reduction include Amazon Devices (electronic devices equipped with the Alexa voice assistant or Kindle e-readers), the retail division and human resources.
Amazon hired heavily during the COVID-19 pandemic to meet the surge in demand, doubling its global workforce between early 2020 and early 2022. But the economic environment has since worsened for tech giants and Amazon reported a 9% drop in net profit in the third quarter.
Even AWS, which had previously registered unprecedented growth in size and profitability, saw a more moderate increase in revenues this summer, growing by 27% as against 39% a year ago.
