Amazon delays construction of second phase of Virginia headquarters

BENGALURU: Amazon(dot)com Inc said on Friday it would push back the start of construction for the next phase of its Virginia headquarters, months after the e-commerce giant announced job cuts spanning more than 18,000 roles amid a sobering economic outlook.

A spokesperson for the company, responding to media reports on the construction delay, did not give details on when it would resume but added the first phase – Metropolitan Park or Met Park – is due to be completed in June and will have a capacity of 14,000 employees.

Amazon had earlier said the Virginia headquarters, a multi-year investment dubbed ‘HQ2’, would create 25,000 jobs.

John Schoettler, Amazon’s real estate chief, said in a statement on Friday the company was pushing out the date for groundbreaking of PenPlace, the second phase of the northern Virginia campus.

Met Park comprises of two 22-story office buildings with 2.1 million square feet of office space, and a two-acre public park.

The news also comes as the pandemic-fueled boom in growth slows and companies try to curb their spending. Work-from-home has also become more common, reducing the need for large office spaces.

Earlier this year, Amazon announced it would eliminate more than 18,000 roles, in one of its largest layoffs in history.

However, the delay in construction would not mean any elimination in jobs, Amazon said.