American companies—both digital and physical—play a significant role in the UK economy. According to official government data from 2019, there were 32,646 US‑owned local business units operating in the UK, employing approximately 1.48 million people, about 4.7 per cent of all UK workers
Of those roles, nearly 22 per cent were in scientific, technical and IT services alone—about 320,000 jobs across approximately 5,796 local business units
So we asked how many American tech companies operate in the UK?
While precise counts vary, one industry report suggests that over 1,100 tech firms are actively hiring engineering staff in the UK, with 775 scaling headcount in the past year. Many of these are US‑headquartered tech giants.
Prominent names with major UK operations include Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Meta (Facebook), Apple, Uber, Cisco, Dell and Salesforce—all operating UK offices or facilities and together accounting for tens of thousands of British employees
For example, Apple UK employs over 7,700 people across development and retail operations. Bank of America’s UK division hosts more than 6,700 staff—its largest base outside the US. Meanwhile, Boeing UK directly employs around 2,500 people in aerospace, IT and maintenance services.
Amazon’s footprint: expansion and jobs
Amazon UK currently employs over 75,000 workers, up from around 7,800 a decade ago—a ten‑fold increase.
The company recently announced plans to invest £40 billion (approx. $54 billion) across the UK over the next three years. This includes new fulfilment centres (e.g. in Hull and Northampton, each adding ~2,000 jobs) and expanded AI and cloud infrastructure through AWS. The scheme will support an estimated thousands of new full‑time jobs annually
While automation is increasing, Amazon maintains that robots will complement human roles, not replace them; for now, human‑robot ratio is projected to reach parity in their UK warehouses within the next few years, alongside ongoing staff training.
US tech vs UK tech workforce comparison
In 2023, net technology employment in the UK reached 2,130,745 workers, up 3.4 per cent on the previous year and representing 6.4 per cent of the UK workforce. By contrast, the US tech industry employed around 6.4 million people in 2023—three times the UK figure.
Of those UK tech workers, some portion—estimated dozens of thousands—is employed by US‑headquartered tech firms with UK operations, though exact totals remain unpublished.
The Workers Union understands that US‑owned firms in the UK directly support nearly 1.5 million jobs, spanning physical and digital sectors—from aerospace and finance to cloud computing and scientific services. American tech companies represent a significant and growing presence: over a thousand tech firms hire in the UK, and major names like Amazon, Google, Apple and Microsoft alone employ tens of thousands. Amazon’s recent multi‑billion‑pound investment underlines continued growth and job creation, even as automation advances.
