South West companies using Amazon to sell goods and services recorded more than £200m of export sales last year, according to a new impact report by the online retail giant.
The platform said around 4,700 small-to-medium-sized businesses in the region were now its "independent selling partners".
According to Amazon, it has invested around £1.4bn in the West Country since 2010, creating 2,400 full and part-time jobs in the region, and 90 apprenticeship roles.
The company claims its investment in the region has led to the production of goods and services that contributed an estimated £1.5bn to the region’s GDP over the period.
The report comes just weeks after the US e-commerce giant defended its contribution to the UK economy as latest accounts on Companies House show the business paid £492m to the UK taxman last year as its sales rose 50% to £20.63bn.
The platform paid just £3.8m more corporation tax in 2020 than in 2019, despite sales rocketing amid the pandemic.
A number of tech companies, which pay tax on profits not sales, have come under fire in recent years for the amount of tax they pay in the UK.
“Amazon is passionate about creating jobs, empowering SMEs and supporting the communities where we live and work, said John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager at Amazon.
“The region has been a fantastic home for us for many years, and we are excited by the opportunity to continue to invest, invent and have a positive impact in the local community.”
Nationally, Amazon said it had made direct investments in its UK operations of more than £32bn since 2010.
Keystone, an independent macro-economic consultancy, estimates Amazon’s investments have led to the production of goods and services that contributed £36bn to the UK’s GDP over the period.
Earlier in September, the company announced plans to create another 1,250 jobs in London, Manchester, Cambridge and Edinburgh as part of a major expansion.
The move follows the creation of 10,000 Amazon UK jobs this year. Amazon has a UK workforce totalling more than 55,000.
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