Investing in Europes competitiveness

Europe is on a mission to help its businesses become more competitive, productive and innovative. But what does real-world support for business competitiveness actually look like?

Earlier this month, I had the chance to visit a number of Amazon offices to see our investments in Europe first hand. From London to Warsaw, Brussels to Luxembourg, I saw how digitalisation can enable growth in our communities and business.

Amazon is doing its part to support European competitiveness on the global stage, through significant investment in people and technology. As recently announced, Amazon has invested more than €180 billion across EU member states, including over €30 billion in 2023 alone. We employ more than 150,000 people across the EU, and the consultancy Keystone Strategy estimates that in 2023, Amazon’s investments in the EU27 indirectly supported more than 400,000 jobs in areas like construction, logistics, and other professional services.

These investments help us to partner with governments and regulators, help local businesses scale, encourage innovation and growth, and boost EU competitiveness and transatlantic cooperation.

London: Working in partnership with governments

Business investment can be even more powerful when pursued in partnership with governments. That’s why I attended the International Investment Summit in London in the historic Guildhall alongside other business leaders. I had the chance to congratulate Sir Keir Starmer on his election as Prime Minister, and I spoke to members of his new government about their priorities for the next five years.

We also discussed the significant economic contribution that Amazon makes to the UK economy, including AWS’s recently announced plans to invest £8 billion over the next five years to build, operate, and maintain data centres in the UK, as well as Amazon’s broader ongoing commitment to the country, where we employ 75,000 people in a variety of corporate, operations, and R&D functions across more than 100 different types of facilities.

These investments have a ripple effect throughout the economy. In the last year alone, we’ve directly invested more than £12 billion in the UK and made total tax contributions of more than £4.3 billion. As a result, Keystone Strategy, estimates that our investments have contributed an additional £10 billion to UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Warsaw: Helping local businesses scale

My visit to Warsaw coincided with Amazon’s 10^th anniversary of operating in Poland. Over the last decade, customers across the country have benefitted from everyday low prices and fast, reliable delivery, across more than 30 product categories. Importantly, this selection includes tens of thousands of products from local Polish businesses and brands like Zelmer, Gerlach, Trefl, Bambino, and Krosno.

During my stay, I met with the Head of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister Jan Grabiec (see lead image above) and the U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski to discuss the critical nature of transatlantic relations for Poland and Europe, and the importance of American investments within local communities and local businesses.

Amazon has created 70,000 direct and indirect jobs and has invested over PLN 30 billion (€6.9 billion) in its development in Poland – including in local infrastructure, such as 11 logistics centres, three R&D centres, corporate offices, and an AWS Local Zone.

Much of this investment benefits small and medium-sized businesses in Poland to reach new customers around the world. For example, Polish selling partners can simply list their products once to sell across all of our eight European stores, enabling easy expansion within Europe and beyond. Globally, in 2023, Polish entrepreneurs sold over 30 million products through Amazon – on average, one product per second. In 2023, Polish SMEs generated over PLN 4.7 billion (€1 billion) in exports via the Amazon marketplace.

Amazon has also invested in helping local businesses to scale and grow, such as with IVONA Software, a leading text-to-speech technology company based in Gdańsk. Amazon’s acquisition of the company helped scale its technology globally, and it quickly became an important part of the voice of Alexa, Amazon’s AI assistant.

Brussels: Regulating for innovation and growth

Of course, none of our investments in European innovation and productivity can happen without the right regulatory environment. In Brussels, I engaged in discussions with EU policymakers focused on promoting a competitive and innovative European economy aligning with recent European Commission goals, which are critical drivers of regional competitiveness.

I highlighted the need for an environment that reduces barriers and legislative complexity, in favour of growth and increased productivity. A strong and functioning Single Market can help unlock European potential, especially for SMEs, which contribute 52% of the EU’s GDP, according to a report Amazon commissioned by Implement Consulting Group.

I also raised the need to harness new technologies like AI to reindustrialise the economy, upskill the workforce through public-private training initiatives, and create a supportive regulatory framework that drives digital transformation.

Luxembourg: Boosting EU competitiveness and transatlantic cooperation

To finish, I had the honour of meeting with Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Luc Frieden, Minister of the Economy Lex Delles, and U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg Thomas M. Barrett. We discussed Single Market enhancements and ways to boost EU competitiveness, as well as the role of U.S. companies operating in Luxembourg and the importance of transatlantic cooperation.

Luxembourg has been Amazon’s European headquarters for more than 20 years and we have invested more than €6.6 billion in the country between 2010-2022. During that time, we have grown to become one of the country’s largest employers, with more than 4,250 permanent employees in a wide variety of roles.

And as a major employer in Luxembourg, we believe we have a responsibility to help upskill the workforce – both present and future. That’s why we’ve partnered with academic institutions including the University of Luxembourg on a five-year agreement to support thesis research projects, and a collaboration to use AWS processors in high-performance computing (HPC) research.

Over the years, Amazon’s European investments have created jobs and boosted local economies, unlocking the region’s potential through support for people, businesses, and technology. I look forward to what we’re able to accomplish in the years to come.