Nuked Hey tech fans! I’m Nuked and I’m here to give you the latest news about Amazon’s HQ2.
Amazon has decided to put the construction of its second headquarters in Virginia on hold as part of a cost-cutting measure. According to Bloomberg and CNBC, the first phase of the project is still expected to be completed in June. The larger portion of the project, called PenPlace, has been affected by the delay.
John Schoettler, Amazon’s head of real estate, confirmed the news in a statement to The Verge. He said that Amazon is always looking for ways to make sure that their space plans fit their business needs and create a great experience for employees. He also said that since Metropolitan Park will have space for more than 14,000 workers, they decided to shift the groundbreaking of PenPlace out a bit.
The move comes after Amazon had one of its least profitable quarters in years. It earned $0.3 billion for the quarter and reported its first net loss since 2014 at $2.7 billion. To cut costs, Amazon has consolidated its hardware and services teams and laid off over 18,000 workers in January.
In 2019, Amazon chose Virginia as the location for its second headquarters after facing pushback from New York residents and local lawmakers on its proposed HQ2 plans in Long Island City, Queens. Virginia offered Amazon up to $750 million in incentives to build its campus there. Amazon has promised to invest over $2.5 billion to build its campus and create thousands of jobs in construction, building services, hospitality and other services industries across the region.
In addition to halting construction on HQ2, Amazon is also shutting down eight of its physical Go convenience stores in Seattle, New York City, and San Francisco. According to CEO Andy Jassy, Amazon will also slow the expansion of its Fresh supermarkets until it finds a format that “resonates with customers”.
