Amazon offices

2023: Shutdown of the new headquarters after the dismissal of 18,000 employees

On March 3, 2023, Amazon announced it was halting construction of its second headquarters, dubbed HQ2. The project was implemented in the US state of Virginia.

According to The New York Times, when Amazon announced in 2018 that it plans to build a second headquarters in Virginia along with a subsidiary office complex in New York, this was a symbolic moment for the growing American IT industry. Since then - by March 2023 - the situation in it has changed. Many IT companies in the US are forced to cut costs and lay off staff.

Amazon's Virginia Headquarters Project

The construction shutdown was confirmed in March 2023 by Amazon real estate director John Schottler. The company's announced decision to suspend construction in Virginia comes four years after Amazon abandoned its expansion plans in New York in 2019.

We always evaluate plans to build facilities to make sure they meet our business needs and create excellent conditions for employees, and since Met Park will have enough space to accommodate more than 14,000 employees, we decided to postpone the start of construction of PenPlace, the second stage of HQ2. Our second headquarters has always been a multi-year project, and we remain committed to Arlington, Va., and the entire metropolitan area, "Amazon's head of real estate, John Schottler, said.

The decision to delay a major construction project, which Amazon called HQ2, came after the corporation and other major tech employers made their most significant cuts to their employees since at least 2013. Large reductions fell on the period of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 and the further decline of the global economy from the beginning of 2022. Amazon executives are also trying to figure out what to do with their offices as their employees continue to work remotely, at least part of their working hours.^[1]

2021: Architectural visualization of Amazon's new headquarters

In early February 2021, Amazon unveiled an architectural visualization of the complex, which will become the company's new headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. The multifunctional complex will consist of three 22-story buildings and a tower that will literally drown in greenery.

Visualization of Amazon's Arlington headquarters

The centerpiece of the complex will be a tower called Helix, 100 metres high, which visually resembles a shell. Two spiral hiking trails with abundant vegetation, trees and bushes stretch along the entire building. Green gardens will house workplaces for company employees. The campus site will be part of the neighborhood, not an isolated space. Amazon has been working on the project of the new headquarters for 3 years, construction work is already underway by early February 2021.

Helix skyscraper-shell 100 meters high with abundant vegetation

Everyone will be able to visit the Helix tower for two weekends a month, Amazon said. On the territory of the complex will be created public spaces with an area of ​ ​ 10 thousand square meters. m. There will be built art installations, a park, an amphitheater with 250 seats, farmers' markets, restaurants, shopping areas, places for walking dogs. The territory of the complex will be completely pedestrian, parking will be located underground.

Amazon headquarters with a public space of 10 thousand square meters. m

The workspace is planned to be equipped with the priority of collaboration, natural light and constant interaction with nature. The new buildings meet the requirements of LEED Platinum, the highest sustainability certification issued by the U.S. Green Building Council. The project includes an all-electric central heating and cooling system that will operate 100% of renewable energy (a solar power plant in southern Virginia).

Offices and retail buildings are designed for 13 thousand employees. The Arlington headquarters is seen as a long-term investment that will attract 25,000 jobs and a $2.5 billion investment in Arlington over 10 years. Construction is planned to be completed in 2025.^[2]

2017: Amazon's new $5 billion headquarters set up

On September 7, 2017, Amazon announced plans to build a new headquarters that would employ tens of thousands of people. The Internet giant will invest $5 billion in this project. Apple spent the same amount on creating a new headquarters in the form of a spacecraft in Cupertino (California, USA), Reuters said .

Amazon has not yet decided where the new office will be built. It is only known that this is North America. The company asked city and state authorities to send proposals for the construction of the facility.

Amazon creates a second headquarters for 50 thousand jobs for $5 billion

Amazon's requirements for the city in which the second headquarters can be erected are as follows: the population exceeds 1 million people; "stable and favorable business environment," high potential for attracting and retaining talented technical specialists. Up to 50 thousand highly paid jobs will be created on the new campus.

Amazon added that both residents of this city and those who want to change their job in Seattle for the sake of a new team will be hired at the new headquarters.

According to the founder and general Amazon, Jeff Bezos the new headquarters will be comparable to the current one - in Seattle (state). Washington It occupies 33 buildings with a total area of ​ ​ about 752.5 thousand square meters. More than 40 thousand people work there.

Amazon estimates that having a headquarters in Seattle allowed the city to save about $38 billion between 2010 and 2016.

So it is beneficial for the region to have Amazon headquarters on its territory. Given that the company's revenues and business volume are growing rapidly, the economic efficiency from the projects of the Internet corporation will also increase.

According to analysts at MKM Partners, within eight years Amazon's market capitalization will triple and reach $1.6 trillion. By September 7, 2017, the company's value is $465 billion. Since the beginning of the year, shares have risen in price by 29%.^[3]

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