Amazon.com will hire 3 000 people in customer service in South Africa this year, the e-retailing and cloud computing giant said on Thursday.

The “virtual” roles, which will see the new employees working from home rather than a central office location, will range from customer service associates to technical experts who will provide 24/7 support to Amazon customers in North America and Europe.

I am proud to have South Africa be a growing part of our ability to deliver a great experience to Amazon customers around the world

“The new jobs reflect our continued commitment to South Africa’s economic development, and I am proud to have South Africa be a growing part of our ability to deliver a great experience to Amazon customers around the world and provide employees with the opportunity to work safely from home,” said Andrew Raichlin, director of Amazon customer service in South Africa.

“We welcome the decision by Amazon to locate more of its global services in South Africa,” said trade, industry competition minister Ebrahim Patel in the statement.

The investment in customer service jobs comes as Amazon ramps up its investments in South Africa, especially in the cloud computing arena.