Amazon has revealed plans for a massive €10 billion investment in Germany over the next few years, in a move set to drive innovation and create thousands of new jobs across the country.

The tech and retail giant announced today that the vast majority of the funding, some €8.8 billion, will be pumped into expanding its cloud computing infrastructure between now and 2026 to meet surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and other cutting-edge technologies.

The investment comes on top of €7.8 billion already earmarked for Amazon Web Services' (AWS) new European cloud computing region launching in Brandenburg by the end of 2025.

In total, Amazon's confirmed planned investment in Germany now stands at a staggering €17.8 billion as it doubles down on its presence in Europe's largest economy.

The announcement was warmly welcomed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who said the 4,000 new jobs being created this year alone underlined Germany's continued attractiveness to investors despite economic headwinds.

"Amazon came to Germany over 25 years ago, and we continue to invest in the country," said Rocco Bräuniger, Amazon's Germany chief. "Our teams work hand-in-hand with state-of-the-art technologies to deliver for small businesses and customers, while AWS enables organisations to grow using the cloud."

As well as ploughing money into its cloud division, the investment drive will also see Amazon expand its logistics network with three new fulfilment centres opening in 2023 and 2024 in North Rhine-Westphalia, Thuringia and Lower Saxony.

AWS managing director for Germany and Europe, Stefan Hoechbauer, said the cloud spending reflected Germany's position at "the heart of innovation across Europe" and AWS's commitment to supporting digital skills programmes locally.

Since 2010, Amazon has invested more than €77 billion in Germany, creating jobs while contributing an estimated €50 billion to the country's GDP, according to company figures.

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