![The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France](https://cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/76QFY5VCSBJVBOCRZOGUCXMC2Y.jpg)
The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, February 20, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
STOCKHOLM, May 13 (Reuters) – Amazon
(AMZN.O), opens new tab 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
(GSK.L), opens new tab and Accenture
(ACN.N), opens new tab, would announce investments worth billions as part of the country’s annual “Choose France” event, which begins on Monday.
Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) investment would increase cloud infrastructure in the Paris area to support France’s flourishing generative AI opportunity, and logistics infrastructure in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, the company said in a statement.
Increased popularity of GenAI has been
fuelling, opens new tab demand for cloud services, and France has become a hub for AI, with promising startups such as Mistral and Poolside. Companies such as Meta and Google have set up AI research centres in the country.
Amazon has invested more than 20 billion euros in its French operations since 2010 and employs more than 22,000 permanent employees across its cloud and online retail businesses.
“These jobs are in addition to the 2,000 jobs we announced for 2024,” said Frédéric Duval, country manager at Amazon France.
A part of the investment would also be used to expand its logistics network to increase speed of delivery and reduce carbon emissions. It has more than 35 logistics facilities in France.
($1 = 0.9286 euros)
Sign up here.
Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; Editing by Tom Hogue and Gerry Doyle
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Supantha leads the European Technology and Telecoms coverage, with a special focus on emerging technologies such as AI and 5G. He has been a journalist for about 18 years. He joined Reuters in 2006 and has covered a variety of beats ranging from financial sector to technology. He is based in Stockholm, Sweden.