Amazon Pauses Construction On 2nd Headquarters In Virginia (apnews.com) 6
Amazon is pausing construction of its second headquarters in Virginia following the biggest round of layoffs in the company's history and its shifting plans around remote work. The Associated Press reports: The Seattle-based company is delaying the beginning of 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 (the second phase of HQ2) out a bit," Schoettler said.
He 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. More than 230 municipalities had initially competed to house the projects. New York won the competition by promising nearly $3 billion in tax breaks and grants, among other benefits, but opposition from local politicians, labor leaders and progressive activists led Amazon to scrap its plans there. In February 2021, Amazon said it would build an eye-catching, 350-foot 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.
Goldsztejn said the company is expecting to move forward with what he called pre-construction work on the construction in Virginia later this year, including applying for permits. He said final timing for the second phase of the project is still being determined. [...] Suzanne Clark, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, said state officials are not concerned about Amazon filling its commitments. The total of 8,000 workers now employed at the new headquarters is already running about 3,000 ahead of what was expected at this point, she said. She said no incentive money has been paid out yet to Amazon.
He 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. More than 230 municipalities had initially competed to house the projects. New York won the competition by promising nearly $3 billion in tax breaks and grants, among other benefits, but opposition from local politicians, labor leaders and progressive activists led Amazon to scrap its plans there. In February 2021, Amazon said it would build an eye-catching, 350-foot 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.
Goldsztejn said the company is expecting to move forward with what he called pre-construction work on the construction in Virginia later this year, including applying for permits. He said final timing for the second phase of the project is still being determined. [...] Suzanne Clark, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, said state officials are not concerned about Amazon filling its commitments. The total of 8,000 workers now employed at the new headquarters is already running about 3,000 ahead of what was expected at this point, she said. She said no incentive money has been paid out yet to Amazon.
Empty offices everywhere (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3)
And that's exactly why Amazon refused to fully embrace WFH. There was a lot of talk about metrics and productive, but someone simply put way too much money into building offices. And they would rather have the peons suffer 2 hour commutes than admit that they were wrong.
Re: (Score:2)
If employers want their people to come back, then they should offer more pay and benefits.
Let me guess: They can keep the tax credits. (Score:3)
AOC (Score:2)
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: "we were right."
https://mashable.com/article/a... [mashable.com]
https://twitter.com/AOC/status... [twitter.com]