Amazon
- Amazon will halt construction at its planned Virginia headquarters, but workers will still move into nearly completed areas of the project, Bloomberg reported.
- The move comes after Amazon performed a massive wave of layoffs last month.
- It is unclear when construction may resume on the Arlington HQ.
Amazon will halt construction of its second headquarters in Virginia, as the company continues to cut jobs.
Amazon's real estate chief John Schoettler confirmed the construction pause to Bloomberg this week, but said the company remains committed to the new facility in Arlington, Virginia. The move comes after Amazon laid off nearly 20,000 workers last month.
According to Bloomberg, a nearly completed first phase of the headquarters called Metropolitan Park will continue as planned, and will house employees starting in June. PenPlace, another phase of the project, is now halted, Bloomberg reported.
"We're always evaluating space plans to make sure they fit our business needs and to create a great experience for employees," Schoettler told Bloomberg in a statement. "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."
The nearly finished Metropolitan Park includes two newly completed office towers on a 2.1 million-square-foot development, Bloomberg reported. The 2.8 million-square-foot PenPlace would include three new towers and a corporate conference center.
Schoettler did not confirm a new start date for PenPlace construction, but told Bloomberg the second headquarters would always be a long-term undertaking.
"Our second headquarters has always been a multiyear project, and we remain committed to Arlington, Virginia, and the greater Capital Region," Schoettler told Bloomberg.
Construction on Amazon's second headquarters began in January 2020, according to the company. Amazon has committed to spend $2.5 billion in Arlington by 2030, and plans to hire 25,000 workers, Bloomberg reported.