Amazon To Invest €1.4bn In Dutch Operation

The investment is its largest in the euro zone’s fifth biggest economy since it launched its activities there in 2020, the company said.

Amazon has around 1,000 employees in the Netherlands, where its online sales trail those of market leader Bol.com, a subsidiary of retail firm Ahold Delhaize.

“The Netherlands is an important growth market for us,” Amazon’s head for Belgium and the Netherlands Eva Faict said.

“These investments will allow us to better serve our customers and improve our services.”

In an interview with Dutch financial daily FD published on 27 October, Faict said the investments were partly aimed at the development of artificial intelligence for entrepreneurs who sell their products on Amazon’s platform.

Earlier this month, she announced a $1.16 billion (€996.1 million) investment in Amazon’s Belgian operations.

Investment Plan

The investment in the Netherlands will bolster both Amazon’s retail operations and its cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services (AWS).

The funds will be used to upgrade existing operations, including technology and logistics, to optimise the experience for both customers and third-party sellers on Amazon.nl.

Over 4,500 Dutch SMEs sell through Amazon, with nearly 90% reaching customers in 170 countries. Europe is a particularly strong market, with over 75% of these SMEs exporting to other EU nations, and Germany, France, the US, UK, and Italy being top export destinations.

Independent analysis by Keystone Strategy estimates that Amazon’s investments will support more than 2,000 indirect and 900 induced jobs in 2024, and will contribute over €200 million to Dutch GDP this year, with a cumulative contribution exceeding €1 billion since 2013.