Amazon: Delivery of new HQ to be delayed
Amazon is pushing back the beginning of construction on its second headquarters in Arlington, Va.
The construction — separated into two phases, Met Park and PenPlace — is still moving forward with its first headquarters, scheduled to open this June.
Although the announcement comes during a period of particular flux for the company, Amazon made it clear that it’s not connected to recent layoffs at the company, nor an indication of a lessening commitment to the Arlington community, a spokesperson told the Daily News.
The company’s real estate chief John Schoettler says the decision stems from the fact that there will be plenty of room in Met Park, at least for now, to welcome the 8,000 employees Amazon has already hired in the area.
“We’re always evaluating space plans to make sure they fit our business needs and to create a great experience for employees,” Schoettler said. “Since Met Park will have space to accommodate more than 14,000 employees, we’ve decided to shift the groundbreaking of PenPlace (the second phase of HQ2) out a bit.”
The decision leaves the timeline for the completion of the project in question, which was previously estimated for a 2025 groundbreaking.
Amazon is adamant, however, that the project will be completed in full, and their promise of adding 25,000 jobs in the area will be fulfilled. They’ve also committed to investing in affordable housing, funding computer science education and supporting dozens of local nonprofits in the region.
Amazon’s tax-incentives for the project (projected to be about $550 million) are performance-based, meaning Amazon will not receive anything until a certain number of jobs have been created.
To date, Amazon has not received any such incentives, the spokesperson said.
The Seattle-based company recently laid off over 10,000 employees. Although it marks the biggest round of job cuts in the company’s history, it represents less than 1% of its global workforce, and comes during a time of similar layoffs occurring at Microsoft and Meta.