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The UK still has a lot of uncertainty as it continues to grow slowly outside the European Union, but today one of the world's largest companies has announced plans to expand its presence in the country . Amazon announced today the creation of 1,000 additional workers in the United Kingdom, including establishing its first corporate office and research and development office in Manchester.
Amazon said he was also planning to add more people to his research and development bases in Edinburgh and Cambridge – known to develop research technology as well as artificial intelligence technology that powers Alexa , among others. The company claims to currently have 27,500 "roles" in the UK.
The government presents Amazon's news as a victory at a time when many are critical of how it handled the Brexit negotiations. "Ensuring that the world's brightest companies continue to invest and innovate in the United Kingdom is at the heart of our global program for Britain," said the state secretary at International Trade, Liam Fox, in a statement. "Amazon's decision to create hundreds of highly skilled jobs in Manchester, Edinburgh and Cambridge is a huge vote of confidence for the UK and a sign to the world that the UK is very open to business. "
The news was announced today as the company presented the journalists with an "Innovation Day" presenting different fields on which its research and development centers are concentrated in Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy , Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, etc. Spain and the UK, I was at the event, and although I would not say that the day was well advertised, it is instructive to consider what Amazon has chosen to show (and maybe not.).
For example, in a demonstration presented today by the company, a new system based on computer vision that Amazon is building in Berlin will allow robots to identify the ripe or rotted product , so that automatic pickers can select more robust fruits and vegetables. consumers and identify what needs to be thrown away. This highlights the company's ambitions in the area of fresh produce sales and delivery. Earlier this summer, it was reported that Amazon wanted to bid for a number of major retail sites that were to be closed by Homebase, a DIY chain, in order to be able to create more delivery points (or even sales points). retail) on key sites. British cities. However, until now, nothing has materialized.
Meanwhile, a walk in the company's transportation work has focused on additional developments rather than on fundamental changes for the company. The presentation did not focus on drones (which Amazon had also built in Europe), nor on autonomous cars (on which Amazon also works), but on its real-time street navigation and navigation services. other tools to help deliverers deliver more accurate package drops.
While Amazon continues to add employees to the UK, it has also had its share of employment controversy. Warehouse employees regularly strike during the busiest sales periods of the company to protest their working conditions And earlier this month, Reuters announced that the company had developed a prototype AI to facilitate the search and selection of suitable candidates, which would allow it to be more effective in its recruitment. But the project had to be abandoned after being judged biased towards women (highlighting some of the problems associated with "training" in machine learning).
The company is also part of the tech giants who could finally be forced to pay for taxes, although the problem has become very long over the years, so that it has not been resolved. In the latest development, the European Commissioner for Taxation said that he was working on an agreement that could be finalized before the end of the year, which could bring in about 5 billion euros of tax revenues to companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook. based on their "digital" rather than physical presence – the loophole that has hitherto prevented American Internet companies from paying heavy taxes on their profits. However, if an agreement is not reached soon, it could be delayed by one year since the Brexit should detract from its effectiveness in 2019.
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