Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has announced plans to expand in London, despite the uncertainty surrounding Brexit.
The internet giant will create a further 450 research and development jobs in the capital in order to add to their “diverse workforce”.
“In common with any large organisation here, we have a large number of EU citizens, and we love that, we’ve always celebrated diversity in the workforce.” said Amazon’s UK chief, Doug Gurr.
“We benefit hugely from a diverse workforce, we’re very optimistic and hopeful that will continue to be the case going forward,”
Amazon plans to double its capacity in their new Shoreditch office to 900, where they plan to occupy all 15 floors of the Principal Place building.
“London is one of the world’s truly great cities and home to some of the most talented, creative people on the planet, and we are delighted to provide our teams of innovators with a new, purpose-built workplace,” said Gurr.
This London expansion in an important endorsement into the capital, at a time where there is much uncertainty surrounding Brexit and companies’ access to talent from across the EU.
“We have a large number of EU citizens,” Gurr said at an event marking the opening of the new building. “We feel we benefit hugely from our diverse workforce and we are optimistic and hopefully that will continue.”
Amazon has invested over £6.4 billion in the UK since 2010 and has pledged to create an extra 5,000 roles throughout 2017, creating a new total of UK Amazon employees to 24,000.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “This is the latest in a long line of recent major investments in London by global tech firms over the last year, and shows once more that our great city is the tech capital of Europe,”
Minister for digital Matt Hancock said of the news: “This is great news for Britain – Amazon’s increased investment in developing cutting-edge technology in London is another vote of confidence in the UK as a world-leading centre of creativity and innovation.”
Last month Amazon announced plans to acquire Whole Foods in a $13.7 billion (£10.5 billion) deal.