Ax-wielding Amazon HQ-delivery delay

Amazon is pausing construction of its second headquarters in Virginia following the biggest round of layoffs in its history and shifting plans around remote work.

The Seattle-based company is delaying the construction of PenPlace, the second phase of its headquarters development in northern Virginia, Amazon’s real estate chief John Schoettler said in a statement. He said the company has already hired more than 8,000 employees and will welcome them to the Met Park campus, the first phase of development, when it opens this June.

“We’re always evaluating space plans to make sure they fit our business needs and to create a great experience for employees, and since Met Park will have space to accommodate more than 14,000 employees, we’ve decided to shift the groundbreaking of PenPlace out a bit,” Schoettler said.

Schoettler also emphasized the company remains “committed to Arlington” and the local region, which Amazon picked — along with New York City — to be the site of its new headquarters, known as HQ2, several years ago.

In February 2021, Amazon said it would build an eye-catching, 350foot Helix tower to anchor the second phase of its redevelopment plans in Arlington. The new office towers were expected to welcome more than 25,000 workers when complete. Amazon spokesperson Zach Goldsztejn said those plans haven’t changed and the construction pause is not a result — or indicative of — the company’s latest job cuts, which affected 18,000 corporate employees.

Separately, Amazon is closing eight cashierless Amazon Go convenience stores in Seattle, New York and San Francisco, according to a report by tech industry news site Geekwire.