Amazon is to employ more people in the UK than the British Army as the tech giant creates another 4,000 new jobs.

The hiring spree will take Amazon’s UK workforce to 75,000 people, eclipsing the planned number of soldiers in the army by 2025.

The new jobs will be spread across large warehouses in Wakefield and Knowsley, near Liverpool as well as across head office and Amazon Web Services.

Positions will also be available across 19 “Just Walk Out” stores that automatically bill shoppers, avoiding the need for paying at tills.

Amazon has not been put off from investing in the UK by the Brexit vote. Jeff Bezos’ company has hired 40,000 people in the last three years alone.

The expansion contrasts with that of the army, which scrapped a target of 82,000 personnel last year, replacing it with plans to reduce its headcount to 72,000 by 2025.

John Boumphrey, Amazon UK country manager said: “We’re continuing to invest in talent right across the UK, from apprentices in Swansea to data scientists in Edinburgh.”

Mr Boumphrey said Amazon was also investing in training up its workforce. More than 800 employees are training to drive HGVs, the company’s most popular course in the UK.

Earlier this month the competition watchdog announced an investigation into Amazon over fears shoppers could get a raw deal because it is prioritising the promotion of its own products.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said potentially anti-competitive practices could result in a “worse deal” for customers.

It said it will focus on how the brand sets the eligibility criteria for selling under its Prime label, which comes with benefits such as free delivery, as well as how it chooses which items are displayed prominently with options to “buy now”.

Amazon said the company was working with the CMA on its investigation, adding that more than 50pc of the products it sells are from small businesses.

“There are now more than 65,000 small and medium-sized businesses in the UK that sell on Amazon, supporting more than 175,000 jobs across the country,” a spokesman said.