Amazon will invest $1.3 billion in France and create 3,000 jobs

Amazon said on Monday it would invest more than 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in its French operations and create more than 3,000 permanent jobs in the country.

The French presidency had said on Sunday that Amazon and other companies, including GSK and Accenture, would announce investments worth billions as part of the country's annual “Choose France” event, which begins on Monday.

The investment from Amazon Web Services (AWS) would increase cloud infrastructure in the Paris area to support France's burgeoning generative AI opportunity and logistics infrastructure in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, the company said in a statement.

The growing popularity of GenAI has been driving demand for cloud services, and France has become a hub for AI, with promising startups such as Mistral and Poolside. Companies like Meta and Google have established AI research centers in the country.

Amazon has invested more than €20 billion in its French operations since 2010 and employs more than 22,000 permanent employees across its online and cloud retail businesses.

“These jobs are in addition to the 2,000 jobs we announced for 2024,” said Frédéric Duval, country director of Amazon France.

A portion of the investment would also be used to expand its logistics network to increase delivery speed and reduce carbon emissions. It has more than 35 logistics facilities in France.