While companies are announcing layoffs, Amazon has decided to launch a new AWS Region in Switzerland. For those looking for employment, the launch of the AWS Region is good news, as it’s likely to create 2,500 full-time jobs annually at external businesses in the Swiss data centre supply chain.
Aside from the new jobs that should appear, at least according to Amazon’s economic impact study, the company is also planning to invest $5.9 billion into the Swiss economy through 2036. Over the next 15 years, the AWS Europe (Zurich) Region, as it’s known, will add $16.3 billion to the Swiss GDP.
Discussing the news, Prasad Kalyanaraman, vice president of Infrastructure Services at AWS, said:
“From startups and midsized businesses to enterprises and government organizations, thousands of commercial, nonprofit, and public sector organizations across Switzerland are engaging their end users and growing globally with the support of AWS. With the new AWS Europe (Zurich) Region, we have seven AWS Regions and 21 Availability Zones across Europe in Frankfurt, Ireland, London, Milan, Paris, Stockholm, and now Zurich. This is a continuation of our investment to support customers of all kinds, help startups scale and grow, enable technical skills development, and help organizations create cloud-powered applications that reinvent services for end users.”
Amazon said that the $5.9 billion investment includes capital expenditures on the construction of data centres, operational expenses related to utilities and facilities costs, and the purchase of goods and services from regional businesses. The money will also support 2,500 full-time jobs annually, mainly in construction, facility maintenance, engineering, telecommunications, and jobs in the wider economy.