In October, the company announced plans to fire 14,000 employees globally amid its deepening embrace of AI. Amazon's logo on the side of a logistics center. Amazon is set to fire 370 people at its European headquarters in Luxembourg in the coming weeks, as reports. Amazon initially planned to reduce its headcount there by 470, but under European Union law, companies have to negotiate layoffs with employee reps and, in some cases, governments. Amazon reportedly told employees at the European HQ in a memo the layoffs are adjustments that reflect business needs and local strategies.

The British government and the private sector have both contributed to a £1 billion deal that seeks to place the UK at the head of the artificial intelligence industry. The deal includes almost £300 million from more than 50 technology companies, and will be coupled with 1,000 new government funded AI PhDs to help drive the UK's research expertise. It comes after the European Commission last week called for a 20 billion euro (£17bn) investment in artificial intelligence across the European Union in order to catch up with Chinese and US research. It also comes after a recent report by the House of Lords, which proposed a list of recommendations for the UK to become a global leader in AI innovation. That report concluded that the UK is uniquely positioned to shape the development of artificial intelligence, but a code of ethics is needed so it benefits mankind.

More than 50 leading businesses and organisations have contributed to the development of a £1bn deal that the government says will put the nation at the forefront of the artificial intelligence industry. The deal, which features almost £300m of new private sector investment, includes the Alan Turing Institute and Rolls-Royce jointly-running research projects exploring: how data science can be applied at scale, the application of AI across supply chains, data-centric engineering and predictive maintenance, and the role of data analytics and AI in science. The deal between government and industry, announced by Business Secretary Greg Clark and Digital Secretary Matt Hancock today (Thursday 26 April 2018), also includes more than £300m of newly allocated government funding for AI research to make the UK a global leader in this technology. The deal marks the first phase of a major innovation-focused investment drive in AI which aims to help the UK seize the £232bn opportunity AI offers the UK economy by 2030 (10 per cent of GDP). Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Matt Hancock said: "The UK must be at the forefront of emerging technologies, pushing boundaries and harnessing innovation to change people's lives for the better. "Artificial Intelligence is at the centre of our plans to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a digital business.