Amazon is to increase UK staff numbers by 10% this year as it creates 2,500 permanent jobs.

The recruitment drive will take Amazon’s UK employee numbers to 27,500.

Amazon London HQ

Amazon will be hiring more people at its London headquarters

Amazon, which said it has invested £9.3bn in its UK operations since 2010, is seeking people for wide variety of roles including in research and development, and operations.

The jobs push is seen as a vote of confidence in the UK’s prospects as Brexit nears, and was welcomed by chancellor Philip Hammond.

Amazon UK country manager Doug Gurr said: “The UK is a fantastic place to do business so we are delighted to continue our investment in the British economy and provide quality, permanent roles for people the length and breadth of the country.

“Whether you are looking for an entry-level role or in highly-specialised fields such as speech science or machine learning, we are proud to be expanding our UK workforce so we can further improve our products and services.”

Hammond said: “Supporting businesses to create the high-quality jobs of the future is a key part of our plan to create an economy that works for everyone.

“Innovative companies, such as Amazon, will be at the forefront of our new economy. I welcome the news that they are creating 2,500 permanent, new jobs across the country. It’s a clear vote of confidence in our workforce and our economy.”

As well as recruiting at its London HQ and Cambridge and Edinburgh development centres, Amazon said it will also hire graduates and interns in “a variety of technical, non-technical and operations roles” and is recruiting 170 apprentices at its fulfilment centres.